From Congressman Bob Barr. 27 March 2012.
Chris Griffith has written a suspenseful and action-packed novel; but the real value of Code of Misconduct is that it reminds all citizens – law enforcement and civilian alike – that it is neither equipment nor manpower that forms the foundation for good law enforcement; it is integrity.
From 1986 to 1990, I was honored to have served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia under two presidents – Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. As the chief federal prosecutor for north Georgia, I realized early on that ultimate success rested not on the number of defendants prosecuted or on the value of assets seized; but on the integrity with which those resources were marshaled and directed. Both Attorneys General under whom I served – Edwin Meese and Richard Thornburgh – regularly reminded me and my colleagues from across the country, that any prosecution, no matter how large, must be constructed of trustworthy evidence, developed in a fair and objective manner, and presented with no motive other than seeking justice and protecting the lives, values and property of the people of the United States.
As an earlier Attorney General, Robert Jackson, noted to United States Attorneys assembled in the Department of Justice on April 1, 1940: The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America. His discretion is tremendous. . . While the prosecutor at his best is one of the most beneficent forces in our society, when he acts from malice or other base motives, he is one of the worst. . .
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.
It is axiomatic that for a prosecutor to bear true faith and allegiance to this eloquent charge from former Attorney General Jackson, those who work with him and at his direction – the law enforcement officers on the street and in their offices – also must base their actions on integrity and respect for the law. Like the prosecutor who takes the investigations they develop, and then presents the cases to judges and juries for resolution, the law enforcement officer cannot be blinded by statistics or the lure of dirty money or other false rewards. It is of these ingredients – integrity and respect for the law -- that public support for laws and law enforcement is born. Without them, the confidence in our justice system that is essential for a fair and free society, vanishes.
This process has nothing to do with political party or politics generally. As Attorney General Janet Reno said in a 2001 memo: “Policing . . . when done well, brings a community together to solve problems, reduce crime and inspire us all.” When done poorly or dishonestly, it eats away at the very fabric of our society as rust might quietly but destructively weaken the infrastructure of the tallest skyscraper.
These fundamental principles are reminded to us through these words from real-life Attorneys General; but they also are illustrated for us through the pages of Chris Griffith’s Code of Misconduct. Griffith’s lead character, retired Georgia Sheriff Grey Colson, finds himself drawn back into the intrigue of police undercover work through a sense of civic duty and law enforcement instinct. Ultimately, he prevails over corruption and scandal in much the same way that in my experiences and – even more so -- Chris Griffith’s, led us through the labyrinth of real-life corruption investigations and prosecutions.
It is a fascinating read that Griffith has laid out for us, and the many twists and turns in the plot will hold the reader’s attention from the first page to the last. But do not let the exciting plot and well-constructed prose blind you to the very real and vitally important message in Code of Misconduct: corruption in public office – whether large or small – is inherently and inevitably destructive of liberty, and rooting it out in all its manifestations is a job as vital to our nation as is maintaining a strong and effective military.
Neither Chris Griffith nor Grey Colson apologize for their staunch support of this principle. As former President Theodore Roosevelt said in 1903 in his Message to the Congress, “No man is above the law and no man is below it; nor do we ask any man’s permission when we require him to obey it.” Teddy Roosevelt, too, would have enjoyed Code of Misconduct.”
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