A fundamental aspect of defending a criminal case is how "tough" the prosecutor is. Is he someone that believes that everyone that violates the law should be charged? Is he someone that believes in mitigation and therefore giving someone a break on sentencing when factors exist, i.e. if a defendant has been productive in life, has small children, others who rely on support etc?
OR, is the prosecutor someone who believes the law is the law and those that violate it should be prosecuted with the full force and resources that the government can muster and that if convicted should be sentenced without mercy?
It appears that Mr. Fitzgerald is a prosecutor that strikes fear in the hearts of criminal defendants and heartburn for criminal defense lawyers.
More, after the flip.
The best analysis i have seen From USA Today:
Defense lawyers have a different perspective. Scott Mendeloff, a Chicago lawyer who specializes in corporate fraud cases and formerly tried and supervised public corruption prosecutions in the U.S. attorney's office, says Fitzgerald demonstrates "a more black-and-white view of the world" that is "reductionist in disregarding nuances beyond what it will take to prevail." Some defense lawyers, he says, believe Fitzgerald is "not prone to consider what some would term humane factors in charging and sentencing decisions."
"Humane factors". Pretty powerful coming from an adversay. You see, sometimes when all you have are humane factors to argue in your client's defense, you really want a prosecutor who will be moved by such factors in an effort to "help" your client. That could be in the form of not charging someone, if you have to charge--bringing a lesser charge that does not carry much time, or help at the sentencing stage if it gets that far.
It appears that Fitzgerald does not believe in such nonesense.
When defense attorney Ron Safer heard that Patrick Fitzgerald would lead an inquiry into the leak of a CIA operative's name, his first thought was that, from the Bush administration's perspective, "they could not have picked a worse person."
Safer, a Chicago lawyer who has watched Fitzgerald since he was named U.S. attorney there in 2001, says the prosecutor "will bring to this the same energy and aggression that he does to every other project he undertakes."
To say that he is extremely aggressive is, I think, a gross understatement," Safer says. When he's arguing a motion, Safer says, Fitzgerald is "not disrespectful, but he's a lot less deferential than I bet most judges are accustomed to."
To see the whole article go here: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20051011/a_fitzgerald11.art.htm
If i were the lawyer for any of the targets, i would be nervous.
If i were a target, i would be looking into countries that don't extradite.