DA HOPEFULS LEARN GOOD, BAD, UGLY

Connick's Successor Faces Many Hurdles

Only one person can take over Harry Connick's office, but on Thursday
five likely candidates for Orleans Parish district attorney took a
crash course on the business of criminal prosecutions from an
administration that's been in place for nearly 30 years.

High employee turnover, low pay, staggering caseloads and an equally
strapped Police Department were just a few of the obstacles Connick
and his team of division heads discussed in a closed-door session with
those who want the city's top criminal justice job. The briefing began
at 8 a.m. and ran until about 1 p.m.

Connick announced in March that he wouldn't seek a sixth term, leaving
the race wide open for a changing of the guard that New Orleans hasn't
seen since Connick knocked Jim Garrison out of the incumbent's chair
in a close 1973 election.

The qualifying date is in August, with the primary set for Oct. 5. But
the political fund-raising and jockeying has been months in the
making. Connick said Thursday he plans to endorse someone at a later
date and closely watch the race that will produce his successor.

Thursday's event drew Civil District Court Clerk Dale Atkins, lawyer
James Gray, former U.S. Attorney Eddie Jordan and defense lawyer Gary
Wainwright to the DA's office on South White Street.

Michael Darnell, vice president and attorney for the Regional Transit
Authority, also attended. Darnell said he is waiting to announce his
candidacy.

Absent was former Judge Morris Reed, a perennial candidate and Connick
foe, who is likely to run for the office yet again. The DA's office
said Reed showed no interest in attending. But through his wife,
Hazel, Reed released a statement saying he wasn't invited -- but even
if he had been, he wouldn't have come.

From the white tablecloths and printed name cards to the refreshment
spread, the mood was gracious and the candidates were groomed for the
television cameras. They showed no apprehension of taking over an
office riddled with staffing woes and a staggering caseload.

"The job will be tough and difficult but not impossible," Atkins said
during a midday news conference that followed the briefing.

The only contrary words came from Wainwright, who used his time at the
microphone to deride the criminal prosecution of marijuana users,
which he said wastes "millions" of Louisiana tax dollars and police
officers' time.

"Catching people after they've committed horrible crimes does not make
us safer in our homes," said Wainwright, who is facing a charge of
possession of marijuana from arrest during a Carnival parade. No one
else commented on the idea of decriminalizing marijuana.

In a thick plastic binder provided to each candidate, the office laid
out its daily operations and protocol. The 90-page outline also
included a number of undesirable statistics.

For instance, prospective candidates learned that the office lost two
thirds of its staff to turnover last year. The screening division
alone, which reviews cases first, lost 14 of its 16 assistant district
attorneys.

Prosecutors said money is one problem, because their starting pay is
about $31,000 a year, about half of what Connick said local first-year
lawyers earn in the private sector.

The workload is another burden. In 2001, the 32 lawyers in the trial
division handled 364 jury trials, 554 judge trials and more than 4,300
guilty pleas. At the end of the year, 100 homicide defendants awaited
trial.

Several candidates vowed to seek federal and state money for the
office to beef up salaries for starters. Gray, who finished third in
the 1996 primary and endorsed Connick in the runoff against Reed, said
it's a given that whoever becomes DA will try to get as much money as
possible for the office, but added that cash won't solve every
problem. The new DA must convince city residents that prosecutors
truly care about them, he said.

"We have to convince people this system is a system working for their
benefit," Gray said. "That's not an easy job. We're going to have to
say it and then act on it."

In addition to the money trail, the candidates appeared to agree that
the relationship between the Police Department and the DA's office
needs strengthening.

"The two are joined at the hip," said Jordan, who led successful
federal prosecutions against Gov. Edwin Edwards and the "7th Ward
Soldiers" drug ring. "So they have to have a better working
relationship."

Protecting trial witnesses was another universal concern. The office
listed uncooperative witnesses as a key problem, saying many people
have been too scared to testify in violent cases, or else they
disappear before a case reaches prosecution.

"We've got to regain our streets," Darnell said. "We've got to let the
criminal element know they can't retaliate against our witnesses."