REMARKS OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY DANIEL F. CONLEY Acceptance of Irish-American Law Society Person of the Year Award Suffolk University Law School March 26, 2003 Thank you. As a Suffolk Law alumnus, I am truly honored to receive the Irish-American Law Society's inaugural award. To be so honored, by people who believe, as I do, that the practice of law is a noble profession, means a great deal to me. You know, speaking of all things Irish, anyone who watched the St. Patrick's Day Breakfast might have seen me make a startling admission. I came out of the closet, so to speak - I told the good people of South Boston that I am, in fact, half Italian. I don't know if you have an Italian-American law society here at Suffolk, but if there are any students out there who have a vowel at the end of your name instead of the beginning, please know that I am eligible for your award too. Seriously, though, I thought it important to note something about St. Patrick's Day. A week ago last Sunday, as happens every year, all of us politicians went to the annual breakfast and there was a great parade and throughout Boston there were celebrations between family and friends. The best ones did not feature green beer, an abomination. I really enjoyed participating, and I hope that wonderful Boston tradition continues forever. But that's not really what it means to be Irish. To truly be Irish means to inherit a rich cultural and historical legacy. Across all the centuries, men and women of Irish heritage have made their mark in every field of human endeavor. Literature. Politics. Business. Education. Science. And yes, law. The history of the Irish has been the tireless struggle of a people to shape their own destiny. And how can we in this country ever forget how much of America was built, quite literally, by the sons and daughters of Ireland. They left behind the green fields and pastoral valleys memorialized by the lilting voices of Irish tenors, they fled famine and illness, crossing an Atlantic that James Joyce called a bowl of bitter tears, to come to our shores in history's eternal pursuit - the hope for a better life. But we benefited as much from them as they did from us. They helped build the canals and railroads that connected our cities. They helped mine the coal that fueled our factories. They helped patrol our streets and man our firehouses and school our children and raise the generations of Irish-Americans who would go on to become the statesmen and lawyers and business leaders who helped shape a growing United States. When President Kennedy visited Ireland in June 1963, he noted that the country had never been rich or powerful. "And yet," Kennedy said, "since earliest times, its influence on the world has been rich and powerful. No larger nation did more to keep Christianity and Western culture alive in their darkest centuries. No larger nation did more to spark the cause of independence in America, indeed, around the world. And no larger nation has ever provided the world with more literary and artistic genius." This is the Ireland we should celebrate, to borrow a phrase from the great Irish poet William Butler Yeats, "wherever green is worn." So again, I am humbled by this award, and I thank the Irish-American Law Society. I also believe that our pride in our Irish heritage is a bridge to help us understand and celebrate other cultures. Indeed, the story of the struggle of the Irish to forge a better life in a new land is the same story shared by so many others who contribute to America's rich ethnic tapestry - Jewish people, Latinos, Africans, Asians, Italians, Eastern Europeans, Middle Easterners, and many others. The same threads woven through the experiences of our own ancestors are also woven through those of our neighbors from every corner of the globe, and our shared hardships and dreams bring us closer to them. Coming here tonight and seeing all these students on the brink of their legal careers reminded me of the experiences I had here at Suffolk and as a young lawyer in the DA's office. It was during my undergraduate days at Stonehill that I first thought about making the law my career. I was intrigued by the role of the law in our society, how the law helped shape this country into what it has become, and how it protects our liberties, and our safety. I would venture to guess that my years at Suffolk Law were not all that different from your experiences here, except, of course, for the fact that the law school was atop Beacon Hill in those days. I had come home from Stonehill, and my dad and I converted the basement at our family home into a quiet place for me to study. I held a part-time job while I studied law. I had no car, so I took public transportation to the bottom of the hill and walked up to the school. One thing that has not changed is the quality of the legal education provided here. The knowledge and training I received here prepared me for the path that brought me to this point in my career. I don't know where I would be without it - but every day I am thankful for the lessons imparted to me, and for the professors who took an interest in me here. I have no doubt that the education you are getting here is excellent, and the guidance you are receiving top-notch. After law school I joined the District Attorney's Office, and started, as all young ADAs do, in the district courts. The caseloads were enormous, the pay was lousy, and I shared a cramped, dingy office with about eight other lawyers - and I loved every minute of it. I knew then that my calling as a lawyer would be as a prosecutor. I made my way up the ranks - juvenile court, superior court teams, gang task force, and, eventually, homicide unit. Across all the years, the one common thread that ran through all my assignments was the opportunity to make a difference for the better in people's lives. And that's as true today for the young ADAs on my staff as it was for me. I never tire of reminding them how important, and rewarding, their work is. I urge all of you to consider careers in public service. I can assure you that if you do, you will not have many easy days, you certainly won't make a lot of money, and you probably won't become famous. But you will have reached down and extended a hand to the most vulnerable members of our society, and by doing so you will become the richest person of all. It would be wrong to suggest that I could be standing here to accept this honor without the help of many, many people. There are many partners who contribute to our success in the District Attorney's Office: police, clergy, community groups, and, most of all, the prosecutors, Victim Witness Advocates, Investigators and Support Staff who work in our office - simply put, they're the best in the business. I am proud of what we have accomplished in 13 months. We've filed legislation to correct what we perceive to be flaws in some statutes; we've created a plan to protect victims and witnesses from intimidation; we've made it a priority to indict gun offenders within days, rather than weeks; we expanded our community-based prosecution programs. I have tried to use the bully pulpit of the office to reinforce the dignity of human life. Everyone whose life was snuffed out by violence was loved by someone. Every person taken from us had parents who wished them a better life, or a spouse who loved them, or children who needed them, or friends who miss them. Every victim - whatever life choices he or she made - deserved a better fate. How do we convey the worth of each and every life, as not just a number but as a face and a mind and heart that, by their absence, have left a hole in someone's life. I think it important that the public realize that. We've also put an emphasis on professional development. I created an executive-level position that, for the first time ever in Suffolk County, is overseeing the development and implementation of a comprehensive, ongoing program to train assistant district attorneys. Our strategy is twofold: first, we want to ensure that our ADAs are schooled in the latest case history and developments in the legal profession. Second, and just as important, we emphasize the need to adhere to strict legal and ethical standards. It can't be done alone. Fortunately, Suffolk County is home to some of the best law schools anywhere, one of which we are standing in tonight. I'm proud to say that we are building on our partnership with Suffolk Law. We partner with you in the Suffolk Clinical Prosecutors Program, in which third-year students work under the guidance of prosecutors in the Boston Municipal Court and Dorchester and West Roxbury District Courts. Many of the students who have participated have been hired as ADAs, and even those who go elsewhere benefit, I believe, from the experience they receive in a busy criminal courtroom - experience unlike any they would find at a private firm at that stage of their law training. Additionally, Suffolk Law is giving us space to hold an upcoming training session in legal ethics for our ADAs. And earlier tonight, our Second Assistant District Attorney, Gerry Stewart, conducted an informational session here for potential recruits. (By the way, Gerry comes from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and he truly has an Irishman's gift for eloquence, so it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he's convinced at least a few of you to come in for an interview.) Our recruiting efforts echo our commitment to diversity within our office. It only makes sense that to be the best big city prosecutors' office we can be, we need to reflect the racial and ethnic makeup of the county we serve. We've seen some success. Racial minorities currently comprise more than 20 percent of our ranks of prosecutors in district court, a marked improvement over past levels. Likewise, on the Superior Court level, we are more racially and ethnically diverse than we've ever been, and we are committed to doing even better. We have made important strides in prosecution, intervention, and prevention. But the success we've enjoyed is not written in stone; nor is it irreversible. We are currently in the midst of a budget crisis. People need to realize that when you cut prosecutors, when you cut police, when you cut schools, you inevitably hurt the most vulnerable among us. We at the DA's office are working hard, lobbying lawmakers, to try to ensure that does not happen. We are ever mindful of our job, to give voice to the voiceless, and we will never shy from the awesome responsibility that carries. By honoring me tonight, in a larger sense you have honored that mission, and I thank you for that. And again, I urge you to consider being part of that mission. I encourage you to put your legal knowledge to use for the public good. You might not become wealthy, but like those Irish-Americans who built this great country across decades of toil and sacrifice, you will find that the service you give and the contributions you make will bring you a life of immeasurable riches and reward. Thank you.