Robert P. McCulloch

Becoming the Voice of America's Prosecutors

By the time this message is published, my term as president of the National District Attorneys Association will be nearly at an end. What a year it has been. I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. After all, I had served a year as president-elect and had been a committee chair for several years. I had also served as the president of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. I certainly knew what I wanted to accomplish or at least what I wanted to get started. Like most other endeavors, however, the events of this year didn't always follow the script. Actually, the unpredictability of this year is what made it such a great experience.

Last July when I took over as president, I wanted to continue the effort started by Dan Alsobrooks on both student loan forgiveness and the memorial to fallen prosecutors. Because we have much more control over the memorial than we have over the passage of legislation, we had much greater success in that area. The memorial will be dedicated in September at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina. The dedication will be held in conjunction with the NDAA Fall Conference, September 20-23. I hope to see many of you there. Your association is honored to include the names of six fallen prosecutors to be inscribed on the memorial at its dedication. Families of the slain heroes will be invited to the dedication so we can personally thank them for the sacrifice their loved ones have made for our cause.

One of the goals I set for my year was to increase the presence of NDAA on Capitol Hill. I believe we have made significant progress in this area. Members of our association have testified on several occasions in front of Senate committees working on everything from elder abuse to international extraditions. Of course, we continue to work with Congress to provide relief for our assistants from the crushing burden of student loans. While we have made some progress in obtaining student loan forgiveness for prosecutors and defenders, we still have a way to go. As of this writing, there are several bills moving through the system that hold some promise. We have secured more support and sponsors thanks to the non-stop efforts of our members, and I am confident that we will eventually succeed as the legislative process in Washington begins to pick up some momentum.

Also moving through the system are NDAA supported proposals relating to funding for DNA testing and storage and the ever-present problems we have with gangs and witness intimidation. We hope to see much progress on these matters in the future. During this year we have also provided written testimony to the Department of Health and Human Services on medical records privacy issues and the impact on local prosecutions. The FCC is also now aware of the concern of America's prosecutors that the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) may not appropriately address new technology and wiretap capabilities.

We recently concluded a very successful Metro Conference in Washington, D.C. Through the fine work of our members, we were able to secure the attendance of many members of the Senate and House at a reception we sponsored in the Capitol Building where we were able to discuss many of the above issues. Additionally, President-elect Paul Walsh, Newman Flanagan and Tom Charron and I met in the White House with the special assistant to the president for local government. We had the time to establish a relationship and discuss NDAA priorities. I strongly believe that these small steps have put us well on our way to becoming the "voice of America's prosecutors" in our nation's capital.

Another area I hoped to address during my year, is the image of the prosecutors in this country. In spite of all of the good work we do, our image has suffered in recent years. Sometimes it has been because of our own doing and other times because we have allowed others to shape our image.

Our radio show has been a good start in this area. The quality of the shows has been outstanding. We spend an hour every Saturday telling the audience what we do for a living and presenting to them experts on all topics relating to the criminal justice system. We will soon be reaching the entire mid-Atlantic region when the station reaches full broadcast capabilities. We are constantly monitoring the show to make sure we are getting our message out effectively. Combined with the expanded efforts to reach out to news and entertainment outlets, we have made significant strides in setting our own image. We still have plenty of work to do but we are well on our way.

I have had the privilege of participating in many decisions and working on many projects for NDAA. In addition to those mentioned earlier, NDAA did some significant work on our drug policy and in the areas of victims' rights, elder abuse, criminal procedure, child abuse and so many others. Still, there is no question but that the most important issue I faced as president was the selection of a new executive director. You know from previous messages the incredible amount of time and effort put into that process by the executive committee and the entire board of directors. I have no doubt that this decision will have a most significant and long lasting effect on NDAA.

I find it difficult to believe but my year as president of this organization is nearly over. This is my last president's message. I cannot begin to thank all of those who have made this year a great one for me: my family, especially my wife, Carolyn -- without her it would not have been possible to do any of this work, my office staff, especially J.D. Evans, who stood in for me on so many occasions this year and kept the office running.

I consider it a great honor to have been the president during the last year of the Newman Flanagan era. Newman has made this organization what it is today. When Newman took over the reins we were, to say the least, on shaky grounds. Through his leadership and dedication to this association and our profession, NDAA is now one of the most respected organizations in the country. I am also very confident that Tom Charron will take us to the next level and that we will soon reach our ultimate goal -- when the public thinks of lawyers, they think of the ABA; when they think of prosecutors, they think of NDAA. Then we will truly be the "voice of America's prosecutors." With the retirement of Newman Flanagan we are at the end of a great era in the history of NDAA. With the start of Tom Charron we are at the beginning of an equally great one. Of course, the full board deserves much credit. Without the volunteer work they put in, we could not function at all.

Most of all, I am forever indebted to the executive committee this year. They worked tirelessly on many issues, not the least of which was the search for a new executive director. They also did yeoman's work on media issues, the summer conference, congressional testimony, legislation, the prosecutor memorial, radio shows, student loan forgiveness, policy positions and countless other issues close to us. They are:

• Dan Alsobrooks, Chairman of the Board, District Attorney General, Charlotte, Tennessee
• Paul Walsh, President-elect, District Attorney, New Bedford, Massachusetts
• Joe Cassilly, Treasurer, State's Attorney, Bel Air, Maryland
• Suzanne Atwood, Prosecutor Coordinator, NAPC, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Bart Calhoun, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Clayton, Missouri
• Mary Galvin, State's Attorney, Milford, Connecticut
• Mat Heck, Prosecuting Attorney, Dayton, Ohio
• Bill Ritter, District Attorney, Denver, Colorado
• Jim Fox, District Attorney, Redwood City, California

A harder working, more dedicated group, you will not find. I cannot imagine an assembly of people who could have been better suited to handle the search for a new executive director than this bunch.

Finally, I look forward to serving incoming President Walsh in any capacity. Under his leadership and direction, NDAA will accomplish great things. The past year has been the highlight of my 20 years as a prosecutor. I have met and worked with some terrific people from all over the country. It has been a true honor to serve the members of this organization. Thank you for that privilege.