Opinion ID: 2455572
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: the unique role of a prosecutor

Text: ¶ 54 It is a noble calling to represent the people. As agents of the State, prosecutors are justifiably held in high regard by jurors. They are presumed to be learned in the law. As the court recently observed: A prosecutor serves two important functions. A prosecutor must enforce the law by prosecuting those who have violated the peace and dignity of the state by breaking the law. A prosecutor also functions as the representative of the people in a quasijudicial capacity in a search for justice. State v. Case, 49 Wash.2d 66, 70-71, 298 P.2d 500 (1956) (quoting People v. Fielding, 158 N.Y. 542, 547, 53 N.E. 497 (1899)). Defendants are among the people the prosecutor represents. The prosecutor owes a duty to defendants to see that their rights to a constitutionally fair trial are not violated. Id. at 71 [298 P.2d 500]. Thus, a prosecutor must function within boundaries while zealously seeking justice. Id. State v. Monday, 171 Wash.2d 667, ___, 257 P.3d 551 (2011). ¶ 55 Prosecutors, like judges, are servants of the law. State v. Gorman, 219 Minn. 162, 175, 17 N.W.2d 42 (1944). A prosecutor's success is not measured like that of an athlete by the number of wins and losses at the end of a season. The proper measure of the success of any prosecutor is the prosecutor's devotion to the law, fidelity to the rules of the court and rules of evidence, and dedication to guarding the protections our constitutions and laws afford every person, including the accused. Again, as the court recently observed of the office of prosecutor: such officers are reminded that a fearless, impartial discharge of public duty, accompanied by a spirit of fairness toward the accused, is the highest commendation they can hope for. Their devotion to duty is not measured, like the prowess of the savage, by the number of their victims. State v. Montgomery, 56 Wash. 443, 447-48, 105 P. 1035 (1909), quoted with approval in Warren, 165 Wash.2d at 27-28, 195 P.3d 940. I add that most prosecutors act admirably in their quasijudicial capacity and are loyal servants of the law and the cause of justice.