The qualities of a good prosecutor are as elusive and as impossible to define as those which mark a gentleman. And those who need to be told would not understand it anyway. A sensitiveness to fair play and sportsmanship is perhaps the best protection against the abuse of power, and the citizen's safety lies in the prosecutor who tempers zeal with human kindness, who seeks truth and not victims, who serves the law and not factional purposes, and who approaches his task with humility.
More from Robert H. Jackson
Nothing better can come out of this meeting of law enforcement officers than a rededication to the spirit of fair play and decency that should animate the fede…
Permalink to quote #61 For a century every contest with the Supreme Court has ended in evading the basic inconsistency between popular government and judicial supremacy.
Permalink to quote #63 The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation, than any other person in America.
Permalink to quote #60