‘Impossible to remain silent.’ Veteran Pierce deputy prosecutor confronts ‘crisis’
It has been my privilege to serve the people of Pierce County as a deputy county prosecutor and/or a special assistant US Attorney since 1983.
My colleagues and I do our very best in an environment that can be extremely challenging, complex and rewarding. The same is true of our judges and the public defender’s office. Admittedly, we are not perfect, and we work in a system that is not perfect. But we try to do our best on a daily basis.
Our system is now, and always will be, in need of scrutiny and improvement. In Washington State, lawyers and Judges have frequently over the years formed various committees to review and reform the system, often with a close eye on the issue of racial equity. These efforts don’t gain much publicity but they do gain results.
I have never spoken publicly about these issues as I felt it my duty to do my job and let the result speak for itself. But we find ourselves in a time when there is a crisis of public confidence in our system. It is therefore impossible to remain silent.
I want to tell you how proud I am of our elected county prosecutors, the various local US Attorneys I served under and all of my colleagues in those offices and our local justice system. These are accomplished, hard working and proud professionals. They work hard every day to achieve justice for all and they deserve your trust and respect.
But our nation does face a crisis. While I have always believed that nobody is above the law, our current president has consistently tried to find people who will be loyal to him instead of protecting and defending the Constitution.
He demanded it of FBI Director James Comey. He demanded it of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Both refused and both were fired.
In William Barr, the president finally succeeded in finding a man willing to serve Donald Trump above the law. Barr has done Trump’s bidding by releasing Trump’s criminally convicted friends and threatening criminal investigation of anyone unwilling to bend the knee to Trump.
A full explanation of Barr’s unethical behavior is too lengthy and complicated to describe here. His behavior is an insult to the Constitution, the rule of law and the American people.
The only comparable example in our history was President Richard Nixon and John Mitchell, Nixon’s attorney general. Mitchell went to prison and Nixon resigned in disgrace.
This is our fault. We as a nation created this problem four years ago. We need to take a hard look in the mirror and acknowledge our mistake.
If there is one thing I have learned in these past 37 years, it is that we all make mistakes. But when we make them we should do our best to fix them.
Doug Hill is a veteran Pierce County criminal deputy prosecutor specializing in high-level drug cases. He’s a Tacoma resident and competitive triathlete.