After 40 Years Prosecuting Crimes, Retirement Is Scary Prospect

But remarkably, "the assistants' caseloads are roughly what they were when I had five," Horan said. As the county's population exploded from about 450,000 in the late 1960s to more than a million today, the crime rate has steadily fallen. Homicides now number between 12 and 20 annually, the same as in the 1970s. Burglaries and larcenies, which totaled 24,000 in 1980, are down to about 15,000 annually.

Horan has a couple of theories. One is that older, more marginal neighborhoods such as Blevinstown, just outside Fairfax City, where local feuds tended to erupt into violence, have been bulldozed and replaced by communities of higher incomes and education. Another is that ambulance service is faster and better equipped, as are the teams in local emergency rooms. "Many more people survive gunshots now," Horan said.

One thing that hasn't changed in Horan's four decades is how he runs his office. He keeps the number of prosecutors to a minimum. He doesn't share police reports, witness statements or witness lists with defense attorneys. And he's not afraid to make tough decisions.

"His office could use many more assistant prosecutors," said Robert C. Whitestone, an experienced Fairfax defense attorney. He said the low number of prosecutors sometimes keeps them too busy and pushes them into courtrooms unprepared. Loudoun County, with a population about one-fourth of Fairfax's, has 16 assistant prosecutors.

Horan said the state Compensation Board determines how many are allocated across the state and sets a starting salary of about $43,000, which Fairfax supplements to about $50,000. "Virginia does criminal prosecution on the cheap," Horan said.

He said that when he first took office, "it had become trendy to have your own investigators. I said I don't believe that's the way to do it," and he hasn't. Instead, he relies on Fairfax police.

The officers closely follow Horan's lead, guarding their information more tightly than virtually any other police department in the region, because Horan has insisted they not provide defense attorneys with any ammunition. Those who violate his instructions are prone to severe tongue-lashings.

Horan said the county police force has maintained high standards and excellent performance throughout his tenure. "The Washington Post always wants to criticize me because I've never charged an officer with murder," Horan said. "I'm proud of the fact they haven't been charged. It means they're doing their jobs."

In recent years, pickets stood outside the Fairfax courthouse to protest Horan's decision not to charge a Prince George's County officer with a fatal shooting, and the family of a slain Fairfax man denounced Horan's refusal to charge a Fairfax officer with his death. But it's nothing new to Horan.

He cited controversial cases dating to the early 1970s, when an officer fatally shot a man in a 7-Eleven in Herndon, sparking riots, and another when an officer killed a teenage burglar. In both, there were no charges, to loud complaints by some. "It's part of the job," he said with a shrug.

Another part of the job is successfully taking on a case when the county, or the world, is watching. No one has questioned his skill there, even defense attorneys.

"He's a brilliant prosecutor," Whitestone said. Said defense attorney Peter D. Greenspun: "My clients will be glad he's not around to prosecute them."