草莓传媒

I have practiced law for 32 years. I am a partner in a law firm with my father representing individuals and small businesses in need of legal assistance. I am also serving in my fourth term as the elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for the Foxhall area of Ward 3. I am qualified to be the D.C. Attorney General because I am tough and not afraid of taking on big entities. When Vladimir Putin wanted my client (whom he thought of as Public Enemy Number One) returned to Russia and made a deal with the George W. Bush administration to accomplish this, I went into Federal Court and stopped this illegal deportation. I successfully fought for the right of pedestrians to walk to FedExField on public roads and sidewalks during Washington Redskins games. I was the volunteer attorney for Smokefree-DC and helped to make restaurants in D.C., Maryland and Virginia Smokefree. I will continue to fight to keep D.C. safe and protect the rights of D.C. when the Federal Government threatens our autonomy.

1. Stopping the crime crisis.

2. Stopping the crime crisis.

3. Stopping the crime crisis.

The District of Columbia is in a crime crisis. Fighting crime is my number one, two and three priority. As Attorney General, I will make sure that my office uses every tool at its disposal to protect D.C.鈥檚 residents, which includes holding those who violate our laws (and their parents, if appropriate) responsible for their actions. There is no reason for people to feel unsafe in their homes and neighborhoods.

The Office of the D.C. Attorney General is responsible for prosecuting juvenile crime and certain adult misdemeanors. The Office also represents the District of Columbia Government when it sues a Defendant or it is sued by a Plaintiff. The Office also protects the interests of the public at large when their rights are violated (such as when an employer fails to pay its employees a lawful wage or when a business charges excessive and illegal fees). As Attorney General, I will make sure that I prosecute all crimes where the facts support such prosecution. I will not be afraid to take on large (and small) companies to defraud the citizens of the District of Columbia. I will stand up to the Federal Government if it uses illegal methods to harm our residents.

Our city is in a crime crisis. Residents do not feel safe in their homes or neighborhoods. While the D.C. Attorney General is only responsible for prosecuting juvenile crimes and certain adult misdemeanors, I will work with the Federal U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia (who prosecutes most adult crimes) to make sure that we have a unified strategy for bringing our crime rate down. I will also work with D.C. Government agencies and departments to attack the root causes of crime such as poor education, housing insecurity and poverty so that our youth are given the tools the need in order to live a safe life and understand that the life of a criminal is not a good one. The only measure of success is a crime rate significantly lower than it is today. I will work day and night to pull our city out of the crime crisis in which we are in.

As an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, I have had the opportunity to speak with residents, police officers, teachers and parents about the crime crisis that we are in. The prevailing sentiment is that there is little to no accountability for those who break our laws and harm people. If the facts support a prosecution of an individual for a certain crime, I will ensure that my office will do just that. Under our existing law, the goal of juvenile justice is rehabilitation. In order to rehabilitate a juvenile offender, there needs to be a finding that the child committed a crime. Only then can the Government surge resources to the child, his or her family and the child鈥檚 school in order to break the cycle of crime. Where a parent fails to take action to stop a child from committing crimes that they know are being committed, I will prosecute the parent for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. There needs to be more accountability for children, but also their parents.

Victims of crime have complained to me as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner that they are kept in the dark about the status of the prosecution of the criminal who harmed them. I have also heard complaints from residents about the lack of information concerning youth crime IN GENERAL. As Attorney General, I will work with the D.C. Council and Mayor to change legislation to relax the current restrictions on the privacy of juvenile criminal records so that the victims can learn what is going on in the case of the criminal that harmed them. I will also work with the Council to allow more GENERAL data about youth crime (with names redacted) so that the public may learn whether the subject in a particular crime was found to have committed the crime and what the punishment is. Right now, this information is either not available or is extremely hard to obtain. I will work to change this secretive process.

I will prosecute EVERY case where the facts and law reveal that the defendant committed a criminal offense. Only by prosecuting EVERY case will our city return to a climate of safety since individuals who are thinking about committing a crime will know that if they make this decision to commit a crime, there will be consequences. Of course, prosecuting EVERY crime does not mean jail time for every crime. In some cases, the proper sentence is probation. But, the important thing to remember, is that there has to be a RECORD of a conviction before resources can be utilized to the defendant in order to help them learn that crime does not pay.

I am a Fifth-Generation resident of the District of Columbia. I lived in Washington, DC when the corruption of public officials was commonplace in prior decades. Although public corruption is not nearly as bad as it once was, public corruption still exists, unfortunately. As Attorney General I will use every tool in my shed to ensure that individuals who violate the public trust are held accountable for their betrayal of this sacred trust.

A major part of the job of the Attorney General is to advise the District of Columbia Government and its agencies and departments on legal matters. As Attorney General, I will take this advisory aspect of my job seriously and will work with governmental officials to ensure that all relevant laws are being followed by the Government itself and that D.C. residents are able to access all benefits and services to which they are entitled and are not unlawfully prevented from doing so by laws or policies that unlawfully infringe on those rights. The reason that we have an elected Attorney General is to provide independence from the Mayor and Council. If I believe that if a law or policy of the D.C. Government is illegal or unconstitutional, I will not hesitate to take action to protect our residents from such an illegal or unconstitutional law or policy.

The Office of the D.C. Attorney General has 250 attorneys and 300 support staff. As Attorney General, I will file suit against both large companies and individuals who knowingly and willfully deprive our residents of the right to safe housing and the right to business transactions that are not unlawfully unconscionable or usurious. If a company or individual rents a home without a license, I will ensure that they are held accountable. If a contractor who is not licensed comes into the District of Columbia to perform work on a house, I will ensure that they are held accountable. If a company unlawfully hides fees or charges from a consumer, I will ensure that these contracts are reformed to remove such illegal fees or charges. Residents of the District of Columbia should be able to enter into commercial transactions where there is a basic expectation of fairness between the parties.

The Home Rule Act prevents the District of Columbia from having the independence from the Federal Government that states have. One of the results of the Home Rule Act is that most adult prosecutions are undertaken by the Federal U.S. Attorney (rather than by the elected Attorney General). Most D.C. residents would like to achieve statehood. We, as D.C. residents, are not in control of whether this will happen or not. Until we achieve statehood, I will work to amend the Home Rule Act to allow for the Office of the D.C. Attorney General to prosecute all crimes (not just juvenile crime and certain adult misdemeanors). With regard to taking action against the Federal Government for infringing on the rights of our residents, I will not be afraid of going into battle against the Federal Government if the facts and law are on D.C.’s side.

I have vivid memories of the chaos resulting from high crime rates in Washington, DC in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. I never want our city to return to those scary times. As someone whose family has resided in the District of Columbia for five generations, I have no other place to go if things return to chaos. Therefore, I am in this fight to keep D.C. safe for the long haul. I have represented many people and non-profits at a free or reduced rate during my entire 32-year career as a lawyer. I have volunteered my time as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for the past 8 years. I believe that the current Attorney General has not made public safety a priority during his term, and thus, D.C. needs someone like me who is not afraid to prosecute all of the crimes where the facts and law support such prosecution.

My wife, Lauren Emeritz, is the graphic designer who created the official Cherry Blossom logo that is displayed throughout our great city during the Spring every year, so walking around D.C. every March and April and seeing the beautiful cherry blossoms and my wife鈥檚 distinctive logo is a tradition that is special to me.

A resume can never convey how much a person believes in their profession. I began working in my father鈥檚 law firm when I was in elementary school. I always wanted to be a lawyer. I love using my license to practice law to help people in need.