Graduating in 1977 with a J.D. and passing the bar opened the door to many potential employment opportunities in the practice of law. Public sector, private practice, in-house counsel, public service, trial work and litigation, transactional practice — the possibilities were endless. Unsure where to turn, I was fortunate to have a mentor who secured an interview for me with then-Douglas County Attorney Donald L. Knowles.

I was hired for the job as a young deputy prosecutor in the criminal division, which lead to a career in which over 35 years of my practice have been as a prosecutor. During the span of 35 years, I served as a Douglas County Deputy Prosecutor, the Chief Deputy Douglas County Attorney, head of the Criminal Bureau of the State of Nebraska Department of Justice, and, for the last 17 years, the elected Douglas County Attorney. I am thankful every day for the opportunity given to me in that interview many years ago.

First, let me say my perspective is, most importantly, about public service and my colleagues that I have the utmost respect for. I’m not speaking of just prosecutors but all public servants in our professions. The extremely qualified and hardworking public defenders, members of the judiciary, and fellow prosecutors are the backbone of the criminal justice system.

The only way the system can work properly is by everyone performing their roles to the best of their ability, serving their respective clients. All are seeking justice in an adversarial system, including our brothers and sisters in the private practice of law, doing what we ethically and responsibly can under the law that guides us. It truly is an honor to work with all of these individuals, whose goal is a criminal justice system that strives to give everyone an opportunity to be heard and access to a system striving for equality under the law.

These public servants are not simply collecting a government check, but truly believe they have a greater purpose by serving the people in this manner. As a prosecutor, you learn that your job is to ask: ‘What can I do today to make my community a better place to live?” That includes everyone from victims, to suspects, to witnesses, to the elderly and children.

It’s not about the billable hours or a year-end bonus, it truly is about public service. This is not intended to disparage those lawyers in the private sector in the practice of law — I had a private practice for 10 years doing both criminal defense and civil litigation. I learned so much in that time and also have the utmost respect for those who work in the private sector.

Seeing the other side as a criminal defense attorney in private practice was a tremendous aid to becoming a good prosecutor. I am one of the few lawyers who have won a jury trial on a first-degree murder charge both as defense counsel and prosecutor. It also helps you see a case from both perspectives and provides a greater insight on our burden of proof.

As Justice Jackson wrote in a 1940 speech, “The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty and reputation than any other person in America. His discretion is tremendous.” Later in that same speech, Justice Jackson added, “While the prosecutor at his best is one of the most beneficial forces in our society, when he acts from malice or other base motives, he is one of the worst.” Having mentors who taught me the responsibility that comes from having this power and discretion is vital to the perspective one must have to do this job. There are decisions that have to be made every day with regard to that power and discretion. Those decisions rely on the formulation of knowledge of the law both statutory and case law along with common sense and compassion for all involved.

There are many extreme stressors that come from making these daily decisions. We are told to leave emotions out of the decision-making process. The scenes we go to, photos we see, and conversations we have with victims, witnesses, and physicians all have an impact on our psyche no matter how hard we try to shield ourselves. We are not robots, and the things we are exposed to, even if we attempt to suppress them, still have an impact on our lives. There is a danger from this secondary trauma that can have serious implications in our lives. Again, even though it is primarily the prosecutor, it impacts all individuals involved in the system from law enforcement officers to public defenders, judges, probation officers, and jurors.

It is not just the visuals of the situation, which can be horrifying, but also meeting human beings who are suffering from the anguish of that trauma is difficult and impactful. The loss of a family member, the permanent scars mentally and physically from some violent act, the conversations about what the “system” will offer them from a justice perspective all weigh heavy in our minds. Having had many conversations with victims and families in my office, I know how difficult it can be to find the best words to convey what the criminal justice system can offer them and even the best words are unsatisfying and inadequate.

The prosecutor’s perspective is not just about reciting the law; it’s about understanding, counseling, showing compassion toward, and educating human beings who are in an extremely emotional moment. Law school classes never really prepares us for those conversations. However, you learn from experience that sincerity, compassion, and honesty are the qualities that are most important when these conversations take place.

Those conversations, the tears, the photos, and the autopsies have a traumatic impact on the life of a prosecutor. We have all seen the impact of the immense stressors being a trial attorney especially handling emotional, sensitive cases. Family issues, dependency issues, and mental health issues can occur if we do not have the ability to find a way to handle these stressors. Striving for balance in our lives, we rely upon family, faith, friends, and colleagues who are there to help us navigate those difficult times and make sure we do not become cynical about life and everyone we come into contact with. The cases that involve children have the greatest impact. Child victim cases and all that comes with them are forever etched in our souls and will never leave us.

A perspective that has developed over the years is an appreciation of the advancement of so many areas of forensics. We have come a long way from blood typing and someone wearing a wire; finger-printing, DNA analysis, social-media analysis, and digital forensic evidence are all newer evidentiary tools. DNA analysis continues to improve using the very essence of our human makeup to assist us in discovering where that genetic evidence came from at a crime scene. It assists all parties in the system because not only does it tell us the probability of someone leaving that genetic evidence, but the greatest power of DNA is that of excluding someone as the person that evidence came from.

In the first forensic DNA case in Nebraska, the initial conviction of the defendant was reversed due to the novelty at that time of forensic DNA and its application in the courtroom. The case was re-tried, the second time with more foundation and the Nebraska Supreme Court accepted the science. Those days were quite different than today’s general acceptance of DNA in our criminal justice system.

Video evidence has also come a long way from the grainy, blurry images of years ago. There is now security video and cell phone video. The quality of most of these videos is greatly improved and most of the time simply requires foundation to tell the story. However, it requires a much greater amount of prep time for all involved due to the nature and volume of this type of evidence. The preparation time for prosecutors begins with the inception of the case for charging and continues through to trial, including its display to the jury.

It seems as if everyone uses some type of social media now, and there is a tremendous amount of evidence that can be gleaned from viewing this public aspect of someone’s life. There is a specific area of forensics that deals with the search for evidence from social media by accessing what people do publicly or by accessing an individual’s cell phone(s) and computer(s).

Social media can be used by law enforcement as an investigative tool. It lends itself to finding people on the run, either witnesses or suspects. It also is helpful to find historical information about an individual for the purpose of solving a crime or showing how others may have a connection to a known suspect or defendant.

Also, in today’s world, nearly everyone has a cell phone. The amount of information that can be forensically gained from a cell phone is very broad. Simple phone detail records may tell us who a per-son has been in contact with, for how long, by text or by call, the length of that contact, and time of day or night that contact took place. We can also determine what cell tower con- tact was made from and, at times, locate the vicinity of where that phone was at the time the contact was made.

Cell phones are essentially handheld computers that carry search information, contacts, photos, videos, and location information. Cell phone analysis is found in almost every case that a prosecutor will handle. The Anthony Garcia trial provides an example of this data being used as evidence. The use of defendant’s cell phone gave an exact location as to his whereabouts on Mother’s Day 2013. It showed the defendant was at a restaurant at 72nd and Pacific streets, where he searched for and located the victim’s address on his cell phone as verified by white pages confirming his phone had done the search. The cell phone information also led to corroborative evidence, such as credit card usage at that location. Video evidence was also recovered from a stop the defendant made in Council Bluffs, Iowa, that day at a convenience store. This was all critical evidence that, along with other evidence, led to the conviction of the defendant for four homicides.

A major development in the criminal justice system was our creation of problem-solving courts. In roughly 1996, with the assistance of Judge James Murphy and John Hartigan, Douglas County began a drug treatment court. If individuals in the system committed drug-related crimes or committed crimes because of drug usage, we want to address the underlying problem of addiction rather than sending that person to prison and, hopefully, decrease recidivism.

The success of the Adult Drug Court has been clear and has been a model for other drug courts around the Midwest. Currently, we have 150 people in Drug Court. These are people charged with felonies that we can divert out of the system and give them the help they need to deal with their addiction issues. If you ever have the opportunity, you should attend a Drug Court graduation. It is very emotional and uplifting.

In addition to Drug Court, we have a Veterans Treatment Court that gives individuals who have served our country a second chance. It has also been well received by the Legislature and the judiciary.

Young Adult Court (YAC) is another problem-solving court that provides a sentencing alternative for young people charged with a crime who no longer are eligible for juvenile court. It is not an easy program, but it has been very successful in turning a young person’s life around and keeping them out of prison.

In Douglas County, we also have a Mental Health Diversion program for individuals in the system with mental health issues that may be on medication to deal with their mental illness. We can assist those individuals to make sure they have access to their medications and transportation to medical professionals to prevent them from decompensating from lack of care or medications.

Lastly, we have a basic diversion program for non-violent first offenders, which provides an opportunity to keep people out of the system and give them the tools they will need to stay out of trouble while they often work to provide restitution to victims.

The judges involved in problem-solving court comment that the problem-solving courts they preside over are one of the most satisfying experiences they have had on the bench. These programs in Douglas County alone have 350 individuals participating. These courts are a tribute to all the hard-working public servants involved, and they are making a difference.

There are so many more topics I would like to address — youth violence and fentanyl are two that come to mind. However, one additional perspective as a prosecutor in a very busy jurisdiction is that there is never enough time.

Don Kleine graduated from Creighton University Law School and is a lifelong resident of Omaha, Nebraska. Don worked in public service, built a successful law practice, and was the Chief of the Criminal Bureau for Nebraska. As the County Attorney, Don pioneered the first problem-solving courts in Nebraska. He is on the board of Project Harmony, Live on Nebraska, the National District Attorneys Association, and is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. Don is married to his wife, Kim, and they have three children and five grandchildren. This article was republished from The Nebraska Lawyer, the official publication of the Nebraska State Bar Association. Find more at nebar.com.