When Danielle Ahn announced her candidacy for Salt Lake County District Attorney earlier this year, we, as prosecutors and defense lawyers, were surprised. Her resume does not detail any qualifications for the office. If elected, she would be the least experienced lawyer in the building.
Still, we reserved judgment. Perhaps, someone who passed the bar in November 2019, with almost no legal experience, would offer something beyond wide-eyed innocence, grand proclamations and uninformed critiques. So, we listened to what she had to say.
It has become clear that Danielle Ahn would not just be the wrong choice for Salt Lake County, but a catastrophic one.
Ahn’s platform demonstrates her limited understanding of the district attorney’s office and the criminal justice system. She grandly proclaims she will end plea deals because she is tired of reading stories about repeat offenders. This is easy to do when you have never prosecuted or defended a criminal case before.
Without the benefit of reading a police report, speaking to witnesses, assessing the evidence, or understanding how to present a case, Ahn seems comfortable relying on headlines to form her opinions. She offers policies born out of fear and emotion.
She is also apparently unaware that the District Attorney’s Office files approximately 14,000 cases a year. The criminal justice system and the judiciary cannot function without plea deals absent an astronomical increase in tax dollars.
Her platform focuses on amplifying victim’s rights, by “implementing policies that ensure that victim’s voices are listened to … and considered with respect.” These policies already exist. Suggesting they do not, Ahn again reveals how little she knows about the office she seeks to lead. There is an entire division in the District Attorney’s Office dedicated to serving victims of crime.
Ahn’s campaign brings into sharp focus her lack of experience as an attorney and a leader. Criminal prosecution is not a zero-sum game with one winner and one loser. This system is not perfect - far from it. It is nuanced, complex, fraught and often inconsistent. Prosecutors must be able to offer victims and witnesses transparency as they seek justice.
Most times, this justice is an imperfect justice. Perfect justice would be that no crime occurred, and all injuries undone. In many cases there are no winners, only people on both sides trying to pick up the pieces and move forward.
Ahn does not understand the justice system well enough to represent the people of Salt Lake County or to deliver the type of justice she promises. Ahn has never litigated a case. She has never been held to the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. She has never explained the lengthy court process to the grieving family of a murder victim. She has never faced the impossible task of telling a sexual assault survivor that, while we believe her, there is insufficient evidence to prove the case.
Ahn has never sat in a jail cell with someone who could be sentenced to death. She has never stood in court, asked a judge to sentence a person to prison for the rest of their life, and felt the tremendous magnitude of that request. Without any real-world experience, Ahn cannot truly grasp the responsibilities of the district attorney.
The somber realities of the justice system, both for victims and perpetrators, are profound. It is laughable and reductive to think they can be truly understood by watching news stories and misconstruing crime data. Proposing a new path without understanding of the terrain is a fool’s errand. Electing a district attorney who pretends to understand the landscape is a dangerous gamble that the people of Salt Lake County cannot afford to make.
These are uncertain times we live in. Over the next four years, the district attorney will face economic challenges, a judiciary attempting to dig out of a pandemic-caused backlog of cases, growing homelessness, and societal unrest. This county deserves a district attorney who is qualified and equipped to handle these issues. Someone who has dedicated his professional career to public service.
There are two candidates on the ballot this fall – but only one qualified choice: Vote for Sim Gill.
Andrew K. Deesing, Joshua N. Graves, Anna Rossi Anderson, William J. Carlson, Ronald J. Yengich, Morgan M. Vedejs, Edward K. Brass, James M. Watabe, Stephanie Pitcher, Chris R. Alberico, Curtis M. Tuttle, D. Gilbert Athay, Edwin S. Wall, Susanne Gustin, Andrew Stoddard, David Mack, Michael T. Holje and Loni De Land are attorneys who practice criminal law in Salt Lake County.
