Julia's Philosophy on Prosecution

I believe strongly in the ethical obligation placed on prosecutors under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 3.8, which states “the first duty of a public prosecutor is to do justice, not merely to convict.”   Unlike any other lawyer, the prosecutor has the power to accuse an individual of committing a crime.  Using the resources of the government, the prosecutor has an unequaled ability to affect that individual’s liberty, property and even life.   At the same time, the prosecutor has the unique obligation to protect the safety of individual citizens and of the community as a whole.  A prosecutor must balance the ability to accuse the individual with the obligation to protect the community by making decisions based on the evidence and the law, and not on politics and emotion.  By doing so, the prosecutor will fulfill his or her ethical duty and obligation to do justice.

I also believe strongly in the principles of Balanced and Restorative Justice, or BARJ.  The BARJ philosophy recognizes that crime hurts individual victims, the community as a whole, and the offender.  The criminal justice system has an obligation to make things right for all affected.  The victim has a right to be involved in the process, to be made whole, and to have a voice.   Involvement from the community is central to repairing the damage done by crime, and to preventing crime from occurring in the future.  Success is measured by holding offenders accountable for their behavior, by repairing the harm done to the individual victim and the community, and by rehabilitating those offenders who are willing to accept responsibility for their behavior and make positive changes in their lives, rather than strictly by the amount of punishment inflicted.  To that end, I strongly support court diversion and rehabilitative programs such as Drug Court, Adult Diversion, and station adjustments for juvenile delinquents.

At the same time, I recognize the need to protect our community from those individuals who, despite our efforts, refuse to follow the law.  Those individuals, by their actions and choices, cause immeasurable harm to our community.  For those individuals, I pledge to use the full resources of the State’s Attorney’s Office to hold them accountable for their actions, to send the message to others that such behavior will not be tolerated, and to protect the community from future criminal acts.