Dan M. Alsobrooks
“This is no time to talk of moderation. In the present instance it ceases to be a virtue.” These words, spoken by Revolutionary War hero Archibald Bulloch during a speech to the Provincial Congress in June of 1776, are chiseled on his tombstone in Savannah, Georgia. The quote, which could be every prosecutor’s motto, was brought to my attention during the fall 2000 NDAA Board meeting in Savannah. It was at that meeting I announced my intentions to run for president of NDAA.
When I decided to seek this leadership role, I knew I was facing the biggest challenge of my professional life. In July of 2001when I was elected before our annual conference in Boston, I had been preparing for that challenge. Then, no one could foresee the challenge all Americans, and not the least the prosecutors of America, would be facing.
The nation’s prosecutors can be thankful that Kevin Meenan was the NDAA president and Newman Flanagan our executive director on September 11, 2001. These two leaders have laid the foundation on which we all can build to face the challenge of terrorism. They have worked directly with Attorney General Ashcroft, Homeland Security Director Ridge and FBI Director Mueller to ensure that prosecutors across the country will be ready to do their part to protect Americans against terrorism as we have always protected them against traditional crimes. America’s prosecutors are experienced in helping hunt down violent criminals and bringing them to justice.
Joining hands with our federal partners against terrorists is just one of the tests we face. We are going to be called on to pick up the slack, while some of the federal resources previously dedicated to violent crime and drug crime must be used to face a new enemy. To shoulder this additional responsibility, prosecutors will need increased resources and training. NDAA and its partners, the American Prosecutors Research Institute, the National College for District Attorneys and the National Advocacy Center, are well on the way to putting the needed training in place. I assure you that NDAA will be there to make certain that Congress and the administration understand why they have a vital interest in giving local prosecutors the tools to meet the challenge.
The next few years may be the most critical in the history of the National District Attorneys Association and for all prosecutors around the country. At the same time prosecutors are being called on to meet the demands from the 9/11 attacks, we, as prosecutors, are subject to distorted and misinformed attacks to a degree I have not seen in my 24 years as a prosecutor. Serving as president of our association at any time would indeed be an honor, now it is a challenge. I pledge to you here and now to build on the accomplishments of past NDAA presidents, our board and the NDAA staff to meet our challenges and continue to increase and improve our service to the nation’s prosecutors.
Issues I feel are critical include:
- Ensuring the existence and expansion of the National Advocacy Center, the National College of District Attorneys and the American Prosecutors Research Institute.
- Continuing to enhance our legislative efforts with Congress on important issues from the so-called “Innocence Protection Act” to loan forgiveness for all federal student loan programs for our assistants.
- Creating an appropriate national memorial to prosecutors who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
- Continuing our progress on such critical issues as juvenile justice, prosecutorial ethics, and DNA and technologies, to provide strong support for our local and state prosecutors.
- Building on the momentum NDAA has created in waging the vital media war to show the public that America’s prosecutors are the true protectors of public safety and citizens’ rights.
- Continuing to create strong ties and coordination with the state prosecutor coordinators and international sheriff and police organizations to further our many common goals.
I am convinced our NDAA can and must continue to build our influence both nationally and internationally. There is a tremendous pool of talent and knowledge within our association. We can only reach our true potential as prosecutors if every prosecutor in the country is part of the fight. I challenge each of you to reach out to every prosecutor in your state, and not just to the chief prosecutors in each jurisdiction but the assistant prosecutors, investigators and victim witness advocates who collectively do most of the work. Apart, we can have only limited impact on the future of our profession; together, there is no limit to what we can do.
At our summer conference in Bismarck, we were not far from the wild Dakota country around the Little Missouri River where, in 1883, Teddy Roosevelt first came to shoot big game. Soon after, he returned to labor shoulder to shoulder with the cowboys of that day. So, it is only fitting to close with some typical “Bully” advice from the old Rough Rider himself. Advice that should serve us well as we carry on in the face of great responsibility and disparagement from those who don’t care or are hostile to our mission.
"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood…”
Theodore Roosevelt, at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910.
My sincere thanks to the folks in my district and my friends and fellow district attorneys in Tennessee, the NDAA Board of Directors and America’s prosecutors for giving me the opportunity to serve you. I can only do that well with your support and advice. Thank you.
May angels be on your side; God bless you and may God bless America!
