A Remarkable Career Trajectory: Recovering Drug Addict Becomes Public Defender Becomes District Attorney
Some folks think it’s nearly impossible for a public defender to transition to prosecuting crimes, or vice versa. For some attorneys, that may be the case, due to ideological or other motivations. But many attorneys do bounce between public defense and prosecution jobs.
Here, from the California-based Daily Triplicate (great newspaper name!) is the particularly compelling story of Jon Alexander, who’s being sworn in as Del Norte County’s top prosecutor today. He just left his job as a public defender to become the boss on the other side of the courtroom.
Criticisms of Alexander for being a public defender pursuing a prosecutor’s position frustrated him, he said.
“It bothered me that certain people decried it,” said Alexander. “It was an honor to be a defense attorney and represent the county’s indigent.”
He referenced John Adams defending British soldiers and then going to war against them later because he believed in the right of being innocent until proven guilty.
“If you take that oath and adhere to it, then justice gets served no matter what side you’re on,” said Alexander.
It could be Alexander’s past personal experiences that allow him to move comfortably between the two positions. He’s a recovering drug addict, and it was the intervention of a judge several years ago which allowed him to turn his life around. Now, Alexander’s promising to be tough as nails on dealers, but says that users who wish to change their lives for the better will be given opportunities. We suppose that Alexander knows exactly how much a person can make of an opportunity like that.
