Wrong advice for African American lawyers
The Sunday front-page article, “Civil rights leaders seek more black prosecutors,” quotes California Attorney General Kamala Harris: “Become a prosecutor for five years, get a bunch of trial experience. You will be very attractive to a law firm if you want to make money later.”
As a career prosecutor for more than 39 years, I was stunned by Harris’ suggestion that new law graduates use a prosecutor’s office merely to gain trial experience, and then leave for greener pastures. Seasoned prosecutors in Bay Area counties annually earn nearly $200,000 or more — more than Superior Court judges.
Instead of encouraging musical chairs in prosecutors’ offices, the attorney general should be encouraging new attorneys to become career prosecutors so they can gain the five years of trial experience usually required to be trusted with the most serious felony cases, such as murder, robbery and rape. Only then can those prosecutors be promoted to management and policy-making positions, and even run for district attorney, as Harris did in San Francisco, after serving as a prosecutor in Alameda and San Francisco counties’ district attorneys’ offices for 13 years. We need seasoned prosecutors to try serious felony offenders.
Bill Larsen, Belmont
Next steps?
In “Civil rights leaders seek more black prosecutors” (Dec. 28), The Chronicle refers almost exclusively to county prosecutors, but nowhere notes that these are elected individuals. This is important because the only way to deal with this problem is through the ballot box, and this article makes no mention of how the situation might be changed.
This writer just sounds like another person venting their spleen, not a serious speaker who wants to get something done. If the writer wants to preach to someone other than his choir, I suggest that he talk about ways to actually get the right prosecutors elected.
Similarly, the protesters in Ferguson, Mo., and Staten Island, N.Y., might be well served if they were to suggest solutions.
Daniel Mauthe, Livermore
Drunken driving
State Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, is to be congratulated for dealing with the problem of drunk drivers. However, his cause is not advanced by claiming that drunk drivers “kill 32,000 people a year.” That means every highway fatality in America involves a drunk driver. Clearly, that’s not the case. The Chronicle would serve its readers better by checking the accuracy of such claims. That way, we can all have an intelligent discussion about how to solve the problem of drunk driving.
Editor’s note: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 10,076 deaths involving drunk driving in 2013.
Ted Loewenberg, San Francisco
Reparations
While U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar’s dismissal of a suit, brought by an Iraqi against George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, et al, for damages resulting from the Iraq war, is likely sound under U.S. law (“Iraqi woman’s suit against Bush over war is tossed,” Dec. 26), it affords no moral exoneration for that unconscionable abuse of American military power. Were we to have shred of honor as a nation, and regardless of judicial mandate, we would initiate a massive reparations program on behalf of the millions of Iraqis victim to the horrific wreckage we wrought.
Richard Boyce, San Francisco
New sanctions
Regarding Obama’s policy shift on Cuba, I wish to thank Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, and all the activists in the San Francisco Bay Area who have worked for decades to end the embargo, lift the travel ban and free the Cuban Five; this is a welcome first step toward respect for the sovereignty of the island nation.
But just as Obama took this step toward normalizing relations with Cuba, he signed the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act to impose sanctions on Venezuela for supposed human rights violations that took place during violent protest that took place earlier this year. Cited in the sanctions bill are the 43 deaths that were largely at the hands of the U.S.-backed antigovernment protesters and included state security forces (police), innocent bystanders and protesters on both sides.
Again the U.S. is meddling in the affairs of a sovereign nation, placing the U.S. at odds with the countries of Latin America and Caribbean. With falling oil prices, product shortages and high inflation, this comes at a difficult economic time for Venezuela. Obama should follow his own example and establish relations with, not punish, Venezuela.
One step forward, one step back.
Dale Sorensen, Inverness
No choice
The writer of the letter “The gun link” (Dec. 26) asks us to not associate mentally ill shooters with the NRA, gun manufacturers or gun owners. But these groups have opposed universal background checks that would prohibit mentally ill people from buying firearms at, for example, gun shows. Until they do, I’m afraid we have no choice but to make that association.
Stephen Schmid, San Rafael
Bad, good news
First the bad news: unemployment is down to 5.8 percent, the stock market is soaring, we’re out of Afghanistan (“Mission accomplished”), gas prices are heading toward below $2 a gallon and more than 11 million health care consumers are newly insured.
Now for the good news: We’re just weeks away from the Republicans taking back both House and Senate. Hallelujah! Happy days are here again! Michael Hamiel, Manteca,
San Joaquin County