U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder greets Officer Danita Marsh. Marsh was presented with the NBPA Profiles in Courage Award. Marsh was wounded and subsequently paralyzed while investigating a domestic dispute in 2006. (Photo by Florence M. Howard)

U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder surveyed a conference room bursting with those attending a National Black Prosecutors Association gathering in downtown Memphis and spoke to what he saw – “hundreds and hundreds of prosecutors – black prosecutors – who are committed to the cause of equal justice for all Americans.”

U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder spoke Wednesday at the 26th Annual National Black Prosecutors Association (NBPA) Conference held at the Memphis Marriott Hotel Downtown. (Photo by Christopher Parks)

Holder was on hand as the prosecutors, who met during the 26th Annual National Black Prosecutors Association (NBPA) Conference held at the Memphis Marriott Hotel, conferred their ‘Profiles in Courage” award upon Officer Danita Marsh. In 2006, Marsh was responding to a domestic disturbance complaint and assisting the victim in her marked police car when the victim’s boyfriend started shooting.

In the exchange of gunfire, Marsh was struck multiple times. She was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, while the shooter was chased for several counties before he was ultimately apprehended.

“Officer Marsh’s story reminds us that unlike people in most other careers, the men and women who choose to work in public service have a higher calling,” said Holder. “They make sacrifices daily – and willingly.”

That many of the prosecutors had answered their own calls to service, turning down private sector jobs that could have provided a more comfortable lifestyle, was not a fact lost on Holder.

The challenges of being a prosecutor extend far beyond the personal context, he said, adding that only on TV are the decisions of a prosecutor starkly drawn in black and white.

“There’s a lot of ‘gray’ out there, and it’s our solemn responsibility to distinguish between the hues and bring the broader picture sharply into focus,” he said.

“As a prosecutor, you need to be determined enough to pursue every single violent criminal, no matter how cold the evidence. You need to be dogged enough to charge all meritorious cases, no matter how difficult the challenges. You need to be tough enough to withstand public scrutiny, no matter how unfair the criticism,” said Holder.

“And yet, at the same time, you need to be wise enough, and self-aware enough, and humble enough, to realize that you may not always be right, that mercy is also a part of justice, that prosecution isn’t always the solution to every social ill, and that our success as prosecutors isn’t measured by how many cases we have won, but by how much justice we have done.”

Holder saluted the members of the NBPA and said that he, too, takes seriously his role in ensuring that all Americans enjoy an equal claim to justice.

“That is why, in the first months of my tenure as Attorney General, I have worked both to renew the historic mission of the Department and revisit many of the difficult decisions within the law enforcement community that remain unanswered,” he said. “For instance, I have made it a priority to ensure that the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has the people, the resources – and the will — to defend the hard-won progress of the civil rights era.”

No one must ever forget that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and all of those who joined the fight for civil rights were aided by the lawyers and leaders of the Civil Rights Division, he said, vowing to honor the legacy and reinvigorate it.

“And I can proudly report to you today that the Civil Rights Division is back and open for business,” he said.

A commitment to ensuring that justice is done does not arise solely in a civil rights context, said Holder, sharing that one of his earliest and most highly publicized acts as Attorney General was “my decision to dismiss the prosecution of former Senator Ted Stevens. A review of the facts led me to conclude that the defense team had not been provided with all the required Brady material. Dismissal of the case was my only recourse. Our adversarial system for criminal trials can only result in justice if the discovery process is conducted by the government fairly, ethically, and according to the rule of law.”

The Department of Justice has always been considered above reproach or suspicion in this regard the Stevens case threatened that trust, he said.

“That is why I have now ordered a full review of how the Department complies with its discovery obligations. We will correct any errors and we will see to it, once again, that justice is our primary goal. That is the hallmark of prosecutors such as you - good prosecutors,” Holder said.

“When we are wrong we will admit our errors. When we see an affront to justice, we will rectify the problem. And rather than worry about politics, when we learn of criminal misconduct, we will follow the facts and the law, wherever they may lead us.

The Justice Department now is taking the same approach in its review of federal sentencing laws.

“I have launched a working group within the Justice Department to review sentencing and corrections policy. Many of the issues we are looking at, including the structure of federal sentencing, the role of mandatory minimums, the Department’s own charging and sentencing policies, the elimination of the sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine, and other unwarranted disparities in federal sentencing, have been the source of controversy in our nation for many years,” he said.

“But controversy should not breed inaction. As prosecutors, we need to do what is right, no matter what challenges confront us.”

He cited the 100-to-1 crack-powder sentencing ratio as a perfect example.

“Although some may seek to impose the ‘soft-on-crime’ label on anyone who speaks the truth about this issue, we all know that this egregious difference in punishment is simply wrong,” said Holder.

“ I have seen first-hand the effect that disparities in drug sentences have had on our communities.”

The Department of Justice will never back down from its duty to “protect our citizens and our neighborhoods from drugs, or from the violence that all-too-often accompanies the drug trade,” he said.

“But we must discharge this duty in a way that protects our communities as well as the public’s confidence in the justice system.

Our goal is quite simple: to ensure that our sentencing system is tough, predictable and fair.”

Holder asked the prosecutors to be guided by the commitment to fairness “that first compelled you to take up the law. Embrace the responsibilities that come with being a role model in your community and always ‘do the right thing.’”

Holder said it was clear to him that “through your work with the NBPA that you are fulfilling these obligations.” He said he was particularly impressed that “you have taken the occasion of your annual convention to launch a program that brings prosecutors into schools to talk about the law and the demands of responsible citizenship. As important as it is to pursue, prosecute, and incarcerate criminals, it is beyond dispute that the most effective way to fight crime is to reach young men and women before they are lured into a life of bad decisions.”

African-American prosecutors can play a special role in breaking the “us against them” myth that divides young people from the men and women in the law enforcement community, Holder said.

“So I strongly urge you to return home at the conclusion of this conference and bring your leadership to the schools and neighborhoods where you serve.

I realize that what you are asked to do is not easy. You spend your entire day at work giving back to your community. On the tougher days, you may be tempted to feel as though you can give no more,” he said.

“It is up to you to fight through those moments. Remember the words of Dr. King: ‘Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable.... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle, the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.’ You must continue to be those individuals.”

Active during the Clinton Administration, Holder is no stranger to Memphians such as former U.S. Atty. for the Western District Veronica Coleman, My Harrison, Special Agent in Charge at the Memphis FBI Office, and well-known bail bondsman Vernon Johnson, who were among those who came to hear him speak.

Harrison said the speech was “absolutely wonderful” and called Holder a magnificent man, whom she met when he was a “lowly peon” in at the FBI in Washington, D.C.

(This story includes reports from Florence M. Howard.)

NBPA Conference notes:

Other Tennesseans being recognized this week and inducted into the NBPA’s 2009 Hall of Fame are three retired judges:  Judge Arthur T. Bennett (Founder’s Award), Justice Adolpho Birch (Trailblazer Award), and Judge Russell Sugarmon (Thurgood Marshall Award).  

Sponsored by United States Attorneys Offices for the Middle and Western Districts of Tennessee, and the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office, the conference and job fair began Sunday, July 19, and runs through Saturday, July 25.

For more information about the NBPA. visit www.blackprosecutors.org.