County prosecutors have enormous discretion.
They decide if criminal charges are filed and the magnitude of those charges. They also may dismiss or lessen charges and, at times, recommend degrees of punishment.
For those reasons, prosecutors must avoid any appearance of bias.
Because prosecutors and law enforcement officers work together - charges are based on arrest and investigation reports - state Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, supports legislation to separate prosecutors from officers who are involved in fatal shootings.
Specifically, a bill he plans to file for the upcoming legislative session would remove local prosecutors from deciding whether to charge law enforcement officials involved in deadly encounters.
"There's an inevitable appearance of bias in a case where a prosecutor has to decide whether to take action against an officer who works for an agency that prosecutor works hand-in-hand with every single day," Barnes said.
The proposal comes in the wake of protests in Ferguson sparked by the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown - an 18-year-old black man who reportedly was unarmed - by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who is white. Protesters have called for St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch, who has connections to law enforcement, to remove himself from the case.
In the ongoing Ferguson protests, several have complained that Gov. Jay Nixon has not ordered Attorney General Chris Koster to step in and replace McCulloch. But current state law doesn't give the governor that power, unless the local prosecutor voluntarily steps aside.
Although the proposal by Barnes was outlined in a story published Monday, he previously discussed the concept in a column published in the Aug. 24 News Tribune. He wrote: "Accordingly, next session, I will introduce legislation that requires investigations and prosecutions of deadly police shootings to be immediately referred to a separate law enforcement agency and the Attorney General. Presently, such investigations are already frequently transferred to other agencies. But, responsibility for potential prosecution is not routinely transferred to the Attorney General."
Whether local prosecutors can be unbiased in their approach to cases involving police shootings is not the only issue. Another issue is whether a public perception of bias exists.
Barnes' proposal is designed to eliminate - or, at least, diminish - both the possibility and perception of bias.
The measure seems sensible to us.