By: Ariana H. Aboulafia
Published: October 23, 2018
Many young people choose to go to law school without knowing exactly what they want to do when they graduate. According to the Syracuse University College of Law, “wanting to be a lawyer” is only one of the top five motivations for their students to attend law school. And, even those who do wish to become lawyers may not necessarily know which legal job would best fulfill their individual goals. Unfortunately, one of the most viable career options for law students, particularly those that are interested in public interest and social justice, is often overlooked: criminal prosecution. Many public interest-minded law students believe that prosecutors – through their participation in policies like mass incarceration, the war on drugs, and various other “tough on crime” programs – steadily target and feed off of the most vulnerable members of society. However, those very systems would most shudder in the face of anew wave of socially conscious prosecutors.
This paper will make the case for socially conscious law students to consider a career in criminal prosecution. Section I will first discuss public and law student opinion of prosecutors in general, and the potential origins of those opinions. The next section will introduce the idea of the “compassionate prosecutor,” and the impact that these individuals can potentially have – and are already having – on behalf of all those involved in the criminal justice system. The following section will discuss various methods that prosecutors use to ask for reduced sentencing, collectively referred to as “downward departures.” This paper will conclude with a reiteration of why prosecution, despite its perhaps dubious reputation, is the position within the legal field wherein socially conscious young lawyers can make the most difference. They can do this by working “from the inside out” to reduce our nation’s contributions to “tough on crime policies” – and, because of this power, prosecution is the position where these lawyers are most needed.