Undoubtedly, many public servants e.g., Assistant District Attorneys are underpaid and often indebted from financing their educations through student loans.
But does offering cash incentives for convictions sound like a good idea? Apparently so, according to a Colorado District Attorney. Last week, the Denver Post reported that Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers sponsored a program that would give cash awards to prosecutors who participated in at least five trials a year while maintaining a conviction rate of at least 70 percent. To say that such a program is misguided is an understatement the goal of the criminal justice system is to seek justice for justices sake, not for the sake of a bonus. In other words, prosecutors decisions on how to handle their cases should be completely uninfluenced by any financial incentive.
Participating in the criminal justice system as a defense attorney, prosecutor or judge is a grave responsibility that should not have to be incentivized through contests.