Insider Info

If you depend on TV shows for your information, you might get the wrong idea about this career.

"For one thing, I spend the majority of my time on the telephone or in front of a computer screen," says Steve M. Lowe. Lowe is the criminal prosecutor for Franklin County, Washington. He starts his day by finding out who the police have arrested. Then he reviews the reports and makes a decision about what to do with them.

"If I decide to hold them, then I have to do the paperwork. That involves filling out documents, looking things up in law books and searching case law," he explains.

Lowe also oversees the nine deputy prosecuting attorneys that work in his office. "Every day, someone goes to make a presentation to the judge. One day a week, we have 'docket,' a prescheduled court day. That is used for pre-sentencing or for court hearings of any sort. Dockets are used to determine if there is enough evidence to bring charges against an individual. I also have regular court days before a judge and jury."

Lowe is an elected official. Every four years, he has to run for office. "I have just started my second term now," he explains. "Before this, I worked for eight years as a deputy prosecuting attorney."

Lowe enjoys the variety in his work. He likes the fact that he is able to make a difference. "It can be rewarding. Our crime rate has gone down. Every so often, I might get a letter of thanks from a victim. You get a really good feeling when you win a tough case. I might know that a person is guilty, but proving it to a jury is another matter."

There have been a couple of career highlights. "Once I tried a gang homicide case. The defendant had a really good story. I convinced the jury that it was a lie and I won my case," he says.

"Then there was a civil case. Someone was suing the county over a railroad crossing. I won the case and saved the county millions of dollars. It's a good feeling."

But there are stressful times. "You come face to face with people's misery. Sometimes you have to deal with the family of a teenager that has been murdered. Or you see the effects of child abuse, violence, that sort of thing. You never get used to it."

Lowe suggests you volunteer to get some experience. "Also, you have to be able to write well. You have to be able to take a 10-page report and sum it up in two paragraphs, but still hit all the elements of a particular crime. And you also have to be able to speak in public and think on your feet. I suggest you take up debating or study drama. You have to present to a jury so they will be interested. A lot of trial lawyers were drama majors."

Randall Gaylord is the prosecuting attorney for San Juan County, Washington. He agrees that public speaking is a valuable skill. "Join Toastmasters or belong to the debating team," he advises. "It's a skill that you can learn with practice."

Gaylord attended law school at the University of Utah. Before running for the position of prosecuting attorney, his law career included clerking for a Supreme Court justice, practicing law in Spokane and teaching law classes.

"I've held this office for six years now," says Gaylord, who recently entered his second term. "I like having opportunities to make things better for people. I like figuring out how to solve a problem. I had no experience as a prosecutor, but I had other experience with legal issues in this county, so I decided to run for office, and I was elected."

Gaylord finds the work extremely challenging and rewarding. "There is never a dull moment. My days have great variety. I'm responsible for the administration and management of the office -- paying the bills, submitting budget proposals and keeping up with technology. Since it's a small office, I share the legal workload with the deputy attorneys. I might be on the phone, meeting with people, drafting material or in the courtroom."

There are tough things about this job. "I have to spend more time on legal matters than I want. It takes time away from my family. Sometimes clients are not grateful, and that is discouraging. There are some people that enjoy making personal attacks on elected people, and although it is expected, it is not enjoyable."

The most significant case of Gaylord's career was the time he wrote and defended an ordinance that banned jet skiing (riding on small jet-powered boats) from San Juan County.

"We were challenged by the industry association. It was a David and Goliath kind of a situation. The case dragged on for three years and went as far as the state Supreme Court. It was the kind of case that draws on all the skills and talents that you have. We received a lot of media and public attention and winning felt really good," he remembers.

"Before you decide you want to be a prosecuting attorney," says Gaylord, "invite a prosecutor out for lunch and find out what they have to say. Then spend a day in court, watching and observing."

Gaylord suggests that you must like to read and write. You also need to enjoy keeping up with new technology and working with people. He says the best education is a well-rounded education.

"Study literature, history, mathematics [and] political science. When I hire a deputy attorney, I look for people with a positive attitude above all else. I look for people who are very interested in learning new things -- who are adaptable and trainable."

When Gaylord advertised for a deputy criminal prosecutor to join the office, Heidi Brosius was chosen from about 50 applicants.

"It's been busy," says Brosius. "There is so much to learn about all the procedures. Trials are a challenge also. You have to develop a presence in court and become comfortable with being in court. I'm fortunate that I have such excellent support and guidance from the people in the office."

Brosius finds that she has new situations to experience daily. She must deal with different types of crimes, ranging from driving under the influence to assault to fishing violations.

"I spend a lot of time reviewing files, preparing for trials that are coming up next month. It's a matter of finding out where you are on each case, finding what needs to be done, what information needs to be collected, witnesses that need to be interviewed," she says.

"Two or three days a week I am in court for arraignments, pretrial conferences, hearings for people who have violated probation, or custody hearings when people are arrested and brought to the courts the next day."

Brosius says you must be sensitive enough to understand people and their problems, yet strong enough to prosecute a case that causes great distress for the people involved. "For example, the victims might be very emotional and not want the case to be prosecuted. You have to protect the community, though, and that means doing what is just and right."

Lynn Stannard is a director of criminal prosecution. She also finds that people skills and empathy for the victims are very important qualities.

"I specialize in cases of domestic violence, child abuse and elder abuse. Often, the victims are very emotional and are emotionally bound to the person who is accused of harming them," she explains.

"I have to work with the victims and help them to see that it may be beneficial if we let the judicial system work and get the offender some help so their relationship can get stronger. Often, they don't want intervention because the system is so big and their loyalties are with the offender. That's a tough balance."

Stannard began her career as a prosecutor in the youth court. After two years, she took over the prosecution of all the child abuse cases.

"At that time, all of the other prosecutors here were men. It turned out that women and children would relate to me better than they did to the men, so I started getting all of these cases. Before long, I was being viewed as the 'expert' in this area," Stannard explains.

"Prosecutors usually judge their success by the number of convictions they get, but in my line of work, convictions are not the only way to measure whether I am doing a good job. For instance, if we get an offender to go to counseling, that's an acceptable outcome in some situations. So I have to adjust my thinking and not measure my success by convictions alone," she explains.

"A typical day," says Stannard, "usually involves putting out fires. Prosecutions are living and breathing things. Things happen by the minute. I find that very exciting. I also like drafting policies, establishing priorities, ensuring that our prosecutors have a good work environment and a supportive management. I don't really have a typical day."

This is a good career for anyone who likes to get out and move around. "If you have common sense, a lot of empathy for victims, if you can talk and relate to people, if you have the ability to be fair, if you can handle stress and think on your feet, then this may be a good career for you."