AN ATTABOY FOR TRYING (LITERALLY)

The Adams County State's Attorney's office lost an armed robbery trial this week. Good for them!

Let me explain. Anybody can cherry pick cases and only try the ones that are a mortal lock for conviction. A lot of prosecutors, out of vanity or political worry, do that. It's crappy public service. If you have a serious crime, probable cause and an "iffy" case, try the damn thing to let the cops and the crooks know you're not a totally risk-averse weenie. In the end, you'll get more pleas, better police work and have better morale in the office.

Making no statement at all about the guilt or innocence of the young man involved, I congratulate Jon Barnard and his people for giving it a rip.

A 100% conviction rate just means an office is afraid to try the tough ones. The occasionally bloody lip means the office is stretching out to protect people and support good police work.

The details of this case are unimportant to this discussion. The decision to try it says something good about the office.