U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Wainstein is shaking up his homicide unit, creating an elite team of prosecutors not unlike the one in which he made a name for himself in the District during the late 1990s.
The changes are the most significant restructuring in years and come after a notable decline last year in the conviction rate in murder trials and complaints by judges about the performance of some prosecutors.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Wainstein, shown speaking with summer interns, said the low conviction rate last year was not motivation for the change.
(Katherine Frey -- The Washington Post)
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The conviction rate has rebounded and homicides overall have fallen, but the city has had a surge in killings of juveniles this year, and gun violence that has taken many of those young lives persists. In that climate, Wainstein said, the need for action remains.
In the new unit, to be led by Glenn Kirschner, a veteran assistant U.S. attorney, about 30 prosecutors will work exclusively on homicides. Other serious violent crimes, such as armed assault, will be handled by a new major crimes unit under Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa Howie. The changes take effect tomorrow.
"I thought we could improve and refine what we're doing," Wainstein said. "Having a homicide section staffed by the most experienced and the most qualified prosecutors in the office is the best way to ensure that we will produce quality prosecutions in our homicide cases."
Wainstein said he has been considering changing how the office prosecutes homicides since taking over in May. Under the structure he inherited, homicides were assigned to a pool of several dozen prosecutors who handled a mix of criminal cases based on geography. Some of the lawyers had little experience with murder trials -- unlike those who will be on the team Wainstein is developing.
Preparing a murder case for trial is a major undertaking that can take months or even years. Prosecutors must prepare witnesses and track forensic and other evidence from the beginning of the grand jury process to the trial. Trials often are a challenge, especially in a city where witnesses frequently are uncooperative, prosecutors say.
While many cases tried by junior prosecutors end in convictions, they often demand much closer supervision, according to many prosecutors in the office. So-called "second chairs," once a rarity even in murder cases, have become common as supervisors seek to compensate for inexperience by adding a second lawyer to prosecution teams.
The reorganization was not driven by last year's disappointing numbers, Wainstein said. The conviction rate, which fell to 66 percent in 2003, is up to more than 80 percent this year, and Wainstein expressed pride in the work his prosecutors have done.
Wainstein, who prosecuted numerous high-profile cases in the late 1990s as an assistant U.S. attorney, was chief of staff to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III when he became interim chief prosecutor this spring. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft made the selection after Roscoe C. Howard Jr. stepped down.
Wainstein's future in the job might depend on who wins the race for the White House. The president appoints U.S. attorneys, subject to Senate confirmation.
A few weeks ago, some prosecutors speculated that with the presidential election fast approaching and a major Justice Department review of the office due to begin next month, Wainstein might not have enough time to reorganize the homicide unit.
Wainstein, however, said he was determined to assign homicide prosecutions to a single unit and drop the decentralized system that has been in place for several years. D.C. police made a similar change more than two years ago.
Like some other top law enforcement officials, Wainstein thinks many homicides in the city are the work of a relatively small group of hard-core offenders.
