What effect will electing Hillary or Bernie as President of the United States have on the current negative climate for police officers?
Hillary is pandering… I think that law enforcement will be defunded to the extent that they can defund law enforcement, as if law enforcement has enough resources now. They don’t. I think that there will be this cultural phenomenon where cops are seen as people who are the enemy. And, I think that it would be the worst thing for law enforcement. I think that law enforcement knows that. Law enforcement has always known that. Firefighters, law enforcement. You can give me some people, the tops of the unions will promote her or Bernie, but at the end of the day, they don’t believe in the second amendment, they don’t believe that cops are primarily good people, and I think that they’d be bad for the country.
Conservatives across the nation are waiting for you to enter the political arena again…
Who me? Not a chance… Here’s the thing, I was in politics for many years. I ran for judge and won, I was the first female judge. I ran for DA and won, and then won again, and then won again, first female DA, the first president of the state’s DA Association. I was the first woman to prosecute a murder case in the history of my county. I started the first domestic violence unit in the nation. I’ve done a lot in the public arena as it relates to politics, but for me, politics was the means to do the job that I wanted to do. It wasn’t something for me to get to the next level. To be DA, you had to run. To be a judge, you had to run. Soon as I became a judge, I said this is a little slow for me, so I gave up my robes long before my term ended to run for DA. I’m a fighter. I’m an activist. I am someone who, you know, when I see a playing field that’s not level, I want to level it, whether it’s for women, or children, or the elderly. I fought for a hate crimes law in New York. I went to John Cardinal O’Connor, we were working on a bill to cover everybody, and to get the Catholic Church behind it. I believe in justice. That’s who I am, that’s what I stand for. I have passion for the victims, and I’m furious with criminals. I think the criminal justice system is all screwed up. I think the fact that we call it the criminal justice system as opposed to the victim’s justice system is a mistake. It’s the victim who pays the price. The criminal gets all the rights. That fight for me is over. I’ve done it. I’ve done everything I could. I’ve tried murders, rapes, violent felonies. I started one of the first, if not the first, Internet pedophile sting operation in the nation with 100% conviction rate, first domestic violence unit in the nation that was a model for the rest of the country. I was a fighter. I will not use or go into politics to do what my passion is because I’ve already done it.
What’s your opinion on electing judges, rather than appointing them? which do you prefer?
There was a time when I said electing versus appointed. I really still go with the election thing. Both of them have their negatives. When they’re appointed, it’s a political inside game and anyone who doesn’t see that is stupid. When they’re elected, it may be just a function of the inside game that they play to get on the ballot in a county where that party is favored. But, what I do believe is that judges should have to face the public. I think hiding behind the robes is a mistake.
You have defeated the odds numerous times in male dominated careers, what is the best advice you can give to young women who intend to do the same?
It’s the same advice I gave to my daughter. She’s a lawyer in Manhattan, smarter than I was. She’s making money. I was in government. And that is, always have a sense of humor. Don’t have a chip on your shoulder. Be smarter and better prepared, than everyone, and always make sure you have enough under-eye concealer for those nights when you stayed up all night.
How long does it take you to prepare for your show?
My opening is what I’m most passionate about. It depends how angry I am. Some- times about eight hours, because I only have a couple of minutes and every word has to matter. If I make an argument, it’s the lawyer, the prosecutor, the judge. I need the evidence to back it up. I come out with my opinion and then I back it up with the facts. Now, I can write an open that’s done on Fri- day and Saturday, I’ll see something, I’ll be furious, scrap that one and write a new one in an hour-and-a-half, two hours. But, it reflects my passion, it reflects my quest for justice. Whether you’re in law enforcement, politics, or television, to me it’s about the level playing field, and if I see politicians lie, it infuriates me. It infuriates me when they say, ‘Oh no, this is what I said. This is what I’m going to do,’ and they do just the opposite. They speak out of both sides of their mouth. No one calls them on it. It reminds me of Rudy Giuliani. Many years ago, when he called out a judge and it was a domestic violence case, and it was this huge push back. Everybody said, ‘You can’t criticize judges,’ and Rudy criticized the judge be- cause the judge bailed some domestic violence abuser who then went out and killed the woman. This was a long time ago, and I remember saying to myself, there’s a cultural shift right now, I’m seeing it. And of course, I jumped on it, cause I think, I don’t know whether I was the DA or Assistant DA, I said, yeah, right, they’re not beyond criticism. Neither is the president, neither is the politician. This is America. Every one of us is equal and every one of us has a vote. We’re equal in terms of votes, we’re equal in terms of victims, equal in terms of justice. And anyone who says my life matters more than yours, or this life, that’s all hogwash.
You ever have any fears with calling out the President?
Are you kidding? I’ve been prosecuting, arresting, indicting, convicting, sentencing dirtbags for 30 years. He can wait in line with Robert Durst and all the rest of them. If you don’t have the courage to do your job and do it in a way that reflects your moral core, then don’t do it. Quit.
