And that, she said, makes the lump firing of eight prosecutors more suspicious.
"They're very troubling," she said of the firings. "If you gratuitously make changes, it invariably causes disruption, distractions, and you lose traction on cases. Assistant prosecutors are left wondering who's coming in. All of that can weaken the office and the work being performed."
An appointee of former President Clinton, White stopped short of calling the recent firings political. "My view is that what's happened has been quite surprising," she said. "Whatever the facts were, whatever the motivation was, this has been unprecedented."
Charles G. LaBella, another U.S. attorney under Clinton who served for two years in San Diego, warned that the fallout could unsettle future applicants. "The net result is that people now might view these as political slots," he said.
At the Justice Department, William E. Moschella, principal deputy attorney general, said that each of the dismissed prosecutors was a "talented lawyer." He said the firings could have been handled better too, but sharply denied anyone was pink-slipped out of retaliation or for base political motives.
But he also emphasized that Washington was the boss. As he told a House judiciary subcommittee last week: "If a judgment is made that they are not executing their responsibilities in a manner that furthers the management and policy goals of departmental leadership, then it is appropriate that they be asked to resign so they can be replaced by other individuals who will."
That appears to have been the rub with Charlton in Phoenix. He was highly regarded by federal agents and defense lawyers. "It is hard to imagine a more respected, fair U.S. attorney," said Phillip Noland, a Phoenix lawyer.
But Charlton's standing with Washington turned soon after his appointment in November 2001. Twice he declined to seek the death penalty, and twice he was reversed by the Justice Department.
Rios Rico was charged with the 2003 murder of Pinkerton, without her corpse or a gun ever surfacing. She had allegedly been slain during a $125,000 meth deal at a suburban Phoenix apartment, and the case against him rested on the word of drug dealers and addicts.
Charlton thought these shortcomings justified a charge of murder, not capital murder. But Washington balked, telling him capital punishment was appropriate. A superseding indictment was filed that qualified Rios Rico for the death penalty. He is awaiting trial.
