The Justice Department Can Neither Confirm Nor Deny a Prosecutor's Existence

In my post today about a drug smuggling case that was dismissed with prejudice because of a federal prosecutor's tricky editing of a hearing transcript, I noted that one of the appeals court judges who heard the case was surprised to learn that the assistant U.S. attorney responsible for this egregious misrepresentation, Jerry Albert, was still employed by the Justice Department. That hearing was last November, so I wondered whether Albert was still prosecuting cases, half a year after the 9th Circuit recommended that the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility investigate his misconduct and two months after the trial judge threw out the smuggling charges. That seems like an easy enough question to answer with a phone call, right? Wrong. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona, on whose behalf Albert prosecuted the smuggling case, won't tell me whether he still works there. Here is the response I received from William Solomon, the office's acting public affairs officer:

Mr. Sullum,

I cannot provide you personnel information for either current or former employees.  If you would like to make a Freedom of Information Act request, the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) processes all such requests for information from United States Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country.  Specifically, Shirley Botts handles those requests.  Her contact information is:

Shirley Botts

Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys

Freedom of Information/Privacy Act Unit

600 “E” Street, NW Room 7300

Washington, D.C. 20530-0001

Have a nice afternoon.

Bill

Most. Transparent. Administration. Ever.

Update: T-Bomb reports in the comments that a Pacer search shows "Jerry Albert is currently representing the government in 103 open cases in the District of Arizona." That was definitely faster than filing a FOIA request.

Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time.

  • Paul.| |

    Shirley Botts

    Someone named Shirley Botts handles the FOIA requests.

    This shit writes itself.

  • Rich| |

    I heard her maiden name was Yujestt.

    I'm not certain it's true.

  • Adam330| |

    You might want to forward him his memo from his boss:
    http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_.....mationAct, and highlight this line: "The presumption of disclosure also means that agencies should take affirmative steps to make information public. They should not wait for specific requests from the public."

  • | |

    Runarounds are for the health benefits of the taxpayers.

  • T-Bomb| |

    According to Pacer, Jerry Albert is currently representing the government in 103 open cases in the District of Arizona.

  • DegFooo| |

    lol, gotta jsut love those bought and paid for politicians! I mean like seriously??

    www.Anon-Got.tk

  • jason| |

    Its for sure that justice department have its own limitations they can not turn the Prosecutor's Existence.

  • | |

    Shit I knew i should have worked for the fed. Normal shit like this would get you easily disbarred in most states. Not these federal cocksuckers. Hey federal bar, go fuck yourself.

GET REASON MAGAZINE

Get Reason's print or digital edition before it’s posted online

OUR CURRENT ISSUE:

  • Sex in the Arab world
  • Obama's last gasp at a legacy
  • How arbitrary description of mental illness messes up public policy
  • And much more

SUBSCRIBE

GET REASON MAGAZINE

Get Reason's print or digital edition before it’s posted online

SUBSCRIBE

advertisement