Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards Endorses Greg Zoeller for Attorney General
From the Journal Gazette Yesterday -
Zoeller knows best how to be Attorney General
The recent political advertisements on behalf of Democratic attorney general candidate Linda Pence leave voters with an inaccurate impression of the job duties of the attorney general.
If voters are to make an informed decision with regard to the candidates they choose, it is vitally important to understand what the job duties consist of for the positions that they are voting for.
It is easy to claim that you want to protect children and pursue predators, but the office of attorney general is not an office of a prosecuting attorney. With the exception of environmental crimes, the attorney general has no ability to go into individual counties to prosecute criminal cases, whether those criminal cases include children victimized by violence or any other criminal offense. The office of attorney general is not a “super prosecutor.”
The attorney general has no statutory authority to initiate these criminal cases. The office of attorney general instead represents the state of Indiana in the following way: When a local prosecutor achieves a conviction in a criminal case, that conviction may be appealed by the defendant. It is then up to the attorney general’s office to represent the state and the local prosecution at the appellate level to preserve the conviction.
I wholeheartedly endorse Greg Zoeller for the office of attorney general because of his experience with the attorney general’s office. Steve Carter has been an exemplary attorney general. His chief deputy has been Greg Zoeller, who is well aware of how the office functions and how to best serve Hoosiers.
The fact that Pence continues to run an ad that allows Hoosier voters to reach an inaccurate conclusion as to the job duties that she seeks to fill, especially her inaccurate focus on protection of children from predators when she has no statutory authority to file or try these types of criminal cases, makes the choice for attorney general and the vote for Zoeller even more important.
Zoeller’s statement that local prosecutors put defendants in jail, and it’s his office’s duty to keep them there is an accurate description of what the office of attorney general is supposed to do, and his clear understanding of his mission merits our support.
KAREN E. RICHARDS Prosecuting Attorney 38th Judicial Circuit State of Indiana
October 31st, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Let me assure you there are a lot of Republicans out there who have been unhappy with the lack of aggressiveness of Steve Carter. I worked in the area of real estate regulation. We would give the AG mortgage fraud cases involve real estate appraisers. They wouldn’t even investigate the matter even though they can fine and revoke the license of those bad appraisers.
It’s unfortunate that Greg Zoeller is simply proposing more of the same. We need an AG who will be more active and take an aggressive role in the context of the power the AG has. The AG has a lot more power than is currently being exercised. There is nothing in the Indiana Code that would, for example, prevent the AG from conducting mortgage fraud investigations and turning over findings to the prosecutors for possible prosecution.
As far as the claim regarding prosecutorial powers of the AG, I saw in one ad that Greg Zoeller bragged about his 93% “conviction rate.” I’m sorry but I’ve been an attorney for 20 years. “Convictions” are done at the trial level not on appeal. Also, I heard Zoeller talk in a radio ad about “prosecuting” crimes against children. So they both candidates are pushing the limits on the language they use.
I am a Republican and there is nothing more than I would like to cast a vote for an active Republican AG candidate who will exercise all of his powers aggressively and within the confines of the law. Unfortuntely Greg Zoeller is simply promising more of the same.
November 1st, 2008 at 9:31 am
Paul:
You are a lawyer who represents convicted inmates who sue Marion County because their cell bed is lumpy. You sue the City of Indianapolis and collected the taxpayers money in a settlement (numerous times). You advocate the AG broaden powers and enlarge government intrusion in peoples lives. What is “real estate regulation?” Do you mean you sued real estate professionals and then be mad when the AG wouldn’t investigate your bad claims? You are not a Republican or a conservative. Please stop speaking on behalf of us and keep your ‘assurances’ to yourself. I assure you that Steve Carter is very popular throughout the State of Indiana because his last vote total exceeded Evan Bayh’s highest total. If you don’t like Zoeller - run against him in the next primary. Even if you are an elected GOP PC, you, my friend, are no Republican. - Jenny