Christopher Darden: Sour Grapes From a Sore Loser

The most unfortunate aspect of Christopher Darden’s latest statements about the O.J. Simpson case is not that they sound like sour grapes from a sore loser. Nor is it that Darden seems to forget a fundamental principle of the ethical prosecutor: that the government’s success is not measured by prosecutors racking up convictions like notches in their belts. Most prosecutors understand that the government succeeds whenever the rule of law prevails. And the rule of law includes the presumption of innocence, a trial by peers and official respect for the people’s verdict.

The saddest aspect of Darden’s current media blitz is the enormous contempt he holds for the Simpson trial’s jurors, most of them black and, as he sees them, “not happy-looking or successful people.” According to Darden, they understood so little about justice that they set free a murderer simply to make a “meaningless” point about racism. These remarks are pitiful because they show how disconnected Darden is from the African American community and the slight regard he has for his own people.

If those jurors, along with most African Americans, evaluated the evidence differently from the prosecution team, perhaps that suggests that Darden ought to check himself before he goes around dissing his people on national television.

Darden claims that black prosecutors are considered Uncle Toms by some members of the community. My experience as an African American law enforcement official is quite the contrary. I was a federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia, where I prosecuted many black defendants before mostly black juries. Whether I won or lost my case, I felt that the jurors respected me and were glad to see me there. Indeed, at the start of a trial, when I rose from the government’s bench and said “My name is Paul Butler and I represent the United States of America” the pride in the courtroom was almost palpable.

To deserve that pride, I had to represent the government responsibly and I had to give the jurors the same respect they gave me. Darden says that he thought his presence on the prosecution team would “embolden” the jury and make them confident about the government’s case. I never expected a jury to find a black defendant guilty simply because the prosecutor was black; I had to earn my wins. If there was compelling evidence that my star witness against a black defendant was a racist police officer, I could not ignore that evidence or pretend it was irrelevant to the officer’s credibility. That would have insulted the jury’s intelligence.

Nor do I think that African American jurors are so emotional or racist that they would acquit a murderer as “payback” for slavery or to send some kind of message. In the District of Columbia, there is a 70% conviction rate for violent felons. My experience as a prosecutor suggests that black jurors are happy to lock up dangerous criminals, as long as the government proves its case.

Darden told Barbara Walters in a televised interview March 15 that African Americans should have thought more carefully about the verdict’s message. They should have realized that affirmative action would be lost as a result of white backlash against Simpson’s acquittal. It sounds like Darden is suggesting that jurors should have convicted Simpson to send a message to whites: You let us keep affirmative action and we’ll give you O.J. Simpson.

No question, there are special problems that African American prosecutors face, but black jurors are not among them. The first problem is of being regarded as a token, of allowing yourself to be paraded in front of black jurors but having white prosecutors call all the shots. Darden writes that after his mistake involving the glove, he was shut out of major decisions involving the prosecution’s trial strategy. In that situation I inform my white colleagues that my black skin comes with a brain and they don’t get one without the other.

The second problem is deciding what it means to be part of a system that sends so many black men to prison. In California, one-third of young black men are under criminal justice supervision. There is something horribly wrong with this situation, and the responsible African American prosecutor must do something more than blindly participate in it.

Something more includes using discretion about who to send to prison, even when they are guilty. Black law enforcement officials have a special responsibility to be thoughtful about who really belongs there. About half of the African American inmate population is locked up for nonviolent conduct. Surely, prison is not the answer for all of these brothers.

To whom much is given, much is required. Black prosecutors, like all black professionals, face special burdens. But they also have special privileges. One such privilege is the opportunity to effect positive change.

As for Darden, even the best prosecutors make mistakes. But great lawyers stay great because they learn from their errors rather than play the blame game.