If there’s one person whose career hasn’t yet been permanently altered by the case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, it’s the publicly-elected prosecutor who, for now, is forging ahead with the case.
As the case against DSK softened, the criticism of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance has increased. The effort to defend Vance got a boost last night when former Mayor Ed Koch and former State Comptroller Carl McCall praised him on NY1.
Koch: “District Attorneys should be praised for justice, not for convictions. You don’t want someone who says ‘every case that I have we’re going to get a conviction otherwise there’s a miscarriage of justice.’ Under the law, the District Attorney is required to give any evidence to the defense that can exculpate the defendant. I think he should be praised, not condemned.”
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McCall: “I couldn’t agree more with Ed Koch. He has done the right thing… he lost a few cases, but that’s okay. He brought the best evidence he had before a jury and a jury rendered a decision. That’s what our system is all about.”
Vance initially called the case solid, but it has wavered under increased skepticism of the plaintiff. Anything short of a conviction now could be seen as a loss for the freshman D.A. who succeeded the legendary Robert Morgenthau (a mentor who now, reportedly, rarely speaks to him).
Vance’s spokeswoman told the Washington Post: “We are not a baseball team. We don’t measure the work of the office on wins and losses.”
Yesterday, Vance’s campaign sent out a fund-raising email based off of a flattering New York Times column about him.
