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Contributed commentary by Steven L. Garrett, retired assistant district attorney, of Palmyra:
The only constant in our lives is change. I feel that one of the goals in life is to try to effect good change when the opportunity presents itself.
In that effort, I am voting for Neil Stauffer as the next district attorney for Montgomery and Robertson Counties, and I encourage the reader to vote for Neil in the upcoming Republican Primary, May 3.
As a retired assistant district attorney, I have worked in the criminal courts of Montgomery, Robertson and Henry Counties for 30 years. In that time, I have tried well over 500 criminal jury trials, ranging from misdemeanors to capital murder cases. You name it, and I’ve probably tried it.
Neil Stauffer is the very best choice for leading the District Attorney’s Office.
Neil is experienced in leading a team of prosecutors. If I recall correctly, a colonel usually heads up an office of Army lawyers, Judge Advocate General officers (JAG). I venture to say, and I think the reader will agree, that the colonel is not going to appoint just anybody to lead a trial team. The team leader is going to have to have the experience and professional competence to hold that position. That is exactly what Neil Stauffer displayed. He held the position because he displayed professional competence and all the attributes of leadership as he led a team of Army lawyers who were tasked with the duty of prosecuting crimes in a military court.
As for teamwork, Neil knows how to spell. He knows that there is no “I” in the word “team.” He is committed to the adage “We are all going to row together.” Putting this adage into action, Neil is determined to recruit and train a selfless group of prosecutors, and then lead them to fight for and obtain justice for victims and the families of victims, particularly in violent crime cases.
One of Neil’s fundamental goals is to foster close, professional prosecutor-law enforcement relations. Neil is fully cognizant that it is law enforcement who are generally the first persons at the crime scene; that it is law enforcement personnel who are doing the “heavy pick and shovel work”; and that it is law enforcement’s work product which will be transformed into the prosecutor’s presentation in the course of a criminal trial. And, finally, Neil is fully ingrained with the reality that it is a combination of law enforcement’s work product and the prosecutor’s presentation that will spell the success or failure of the case in a criminal trial. There is no “I” when a jury returns with a verdict of “guilty as charged.” A guilty verdict opens the door to accountability, consequences and punishment, all of which the victim, the victim’s family, and the public take into account in deciding whether justice has been served.
Neil’s experience as a JAG officer has provided him unparalleled trial advocacy and leadership skills. If you go into the Army as an attorney, having graduated from an accredited law school, having passed the Bar exam, and having received a law license, you must still go to, and successfully complete, the course at the Judge Advocate General’s School. The significance of this requirement lies in location, reputation and relationship. The JAGC School is located on that part of the campus of the University of Virginia that is also occupied by the University of Virginia Law School. Furthermore, the law school and the JAGC School share and exchange professors, JAGC officers, resources, courses etc.
As to postgraduate legal education and training, Neil Stauffer has received the very best that America’s military can offer. We need to take advantage of this qualification, even more so when it is linked to Neil’s trial experience and professional competence.
Neil, being very comfortable in the courtroom, will make an excellent connection with the jury, reflect excellent organization and preparation, present a strategic order of proof, conduct a precise and effective cross-examination technique, and close with an irrefutable summation, all of which are hallmarks of his training and experience as a consummate trial lawyer. Most importantly, Neil’s trial skills coupled with law enforcement’s exhaustive work product will be the foundation blocks for Neil’s unceasing effort to obtain justice on behalf of all the innocent law-abiding victims and citizens of our communities.
The only constant in our lives is change. On May 3, each of us will have the opportunity to bring about a good change. Vote for Neil Stauffer as our next district attorney.
Steven Garrett