Colorado U.S. Attorney John Walsh told a packed courtroom Thursday that although prosecutors carry enormous power, they must temper it with justice and follow the rule of law.
Walsh made the remarks during a formal swearing-in ceremony at U.S. District Court in Denver.
“We have a system of justice and not just a system of power,” Walsh said. “Our mission is to be attorneys for the people.”
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder briefly left the shooting investigation in Tucson to attend Walsh’s investiture in Denver.
Holder is returning to Tucson today for the funeral of U.S. District Judge John Roll of Arizona, who was killed during the shooting.
“We are bound by a shared and painful national grief,” Holder said. “In times like these of inexplicable loss and great challenge, the Justice Department’s mission is brought into sharp focus, and that is what John Walsh is providing here in Denver.”
Holder has made a priority of attending swearing-in ceremonies of the nation’s U.S. attorneys.
“From the moment I met John, I was struck by his optimism,” Holder said. “He has an extremely ambitious agenda but one, I believe, John and his team can handle.”
Holder also has selected Walsh to serve on the attorney general’s advisory committee, a group of U.S. attorneys whom he frequently turns to for guidance and recommendations.
As Walsh’s wife, Lisa Christian, and their two daughters and son looked on, Chief U.S. District Judge Wiley Daniel administered the oath.
The ceremony also was attended by federal judges on the district-court bench, the 10th Circuit and U.S. Bankruptcy Court, as well as justices from the Colorado Supreme Court.
Colorado Democratic Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet — who recommended Walsh’s appointment to President Barack Obama — also made brief remarks.
Walsh, who took office in August, said fighting and preventing terrorism is one of his first priorities.
“Our first goal must be the safety of the American people,” he said. “I am reminded, forcefully, of what law enforcement do every day to keep us safe.”
Prosecuting white-collar crimes also is at the forefront of his agenda, especially in light of the country’s economic downturn and financial-fraud crisis.
“The public expects us to prosecute that kind of crime,” he said. “We won’t let them down.”
