True Tales of a Young Prosecutor in Chicago

Professor Randy E. Barnett is a well-known professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Among other things, he has argued before the United States Supreme Court, written a number of books and many law review articles, and taught Constitutional Law and Contracts for decades. Barnett’s academic accomplishments make it all the more interesting that his first job after law school was working as a prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago during the late 1970s and early 1980s.In Felony Review: Tales of True Crime and Corruption in Chicago, Barnett provides a fascinating account of his time in the State’s Attorney’s Office. In this podcast with Associate Dean Rodger Citron, Barnett discusses why he became a prosecutor, what he learned as a Harvard Law student to prepare for the job, and the many things he learned about professional ethics, charging defendants, and trying cases during his time in the office. As Barnett explains, the title of the book comes from his stint in the Felony Review Unit, a specialized office responsible for reviewing felony charges before they could proceed to court. The unit’s greatest contribution to law enforcement may have been its screening out cases that lacked sufficient evidence to go forward – as Barnett describes, the unit rejected approximately 40 percent of the requests for felony charges that it received.This podcast will be of great interest to attorneys practicing criminal law, students thinking of becoming prosecutors or defense attorneys, and the professors who teach them.