Restoring Public Confidence in the Fairness of the Department of Justice's Criminal Justice Function
by JAMES K. ROBINSON
A Japanese proverb says: “The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour.” Though the recent misconduct within the Department of Justice (the “Department”) occurred over only a few years, the damage to the Department’s reputation will likely not be so limited in duration. It has been painful for those who care deeply about the Department and the success of its mission to witness the testing of one the most significant institutions within the executive branch by a few political appointees with agendas. This testing has exposed vulnerabilities in the Department as an institution, and, in the process, has done a great disservice to the American public and the many dedicated career and non-career lawyers in the Department who decorously have continued to carry out their responsibilities untouched by political influence. It is imperative that the next President of the United States work to restore the Department and its reputation for the nonpartisan enforcement of federal criminal law.
