Force

*508 Our criminal justice system has only one absolute requirement: the accused must receive a fair trial. As this case demonstrates, prosecutors' understanding of their burden to provide such a trial is more important than their understanding of the burden of proof. And more demanding.

Judges and juries bear the responsibility of identifying what justice requires. They must decide, through their verdicts and judgments, the outcome of the trial. The prosecutor's job is to provide them the platform for their decisions by presenting the evidence against the defendant clearly and fairly.

That's it. When you get right down to it, that's the whole job of the trial prosecutor: Provide a fair trial.

Enforcing the law, protecting the public, supporting crime victims, any phraseology you choose for other aspects of criminal prosecution are subsets of that one job. It's not about convictions, it's not about courtroom mastery, it's not about prison sentences. And it's certainly not about won/lost records. It's about fair trials. Fairness is the sine qua non of the criminal justice system, and no amount of technical brilliance or advocative skill can make up for a failure to provide…