A new Cleveland State University program training future prosecutors will be free from political influence, said Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, whose office is providing $5 million in funding.
"This is a law school, and there is academic freedom here," Yost said.
Yost, who has been critical of progressive approaches to law enforcement acknowledged "fairly justified" criticisms of both progressive prosecutors and his GOP colleagues.
Yost, a former Delaware County prosecutor, said he hopes the training at the new CSU program doesn't stray far from the core goal of the job.
"A prosecutor's job is to get justice for the community, to punish wrongdoers, to deter others," Yost said. "That mindset is necessary to a prosecution program. To the extent that there are ideas that take away that fundamental purpose of having a prosecutor, I think that probably should be out of bounds here, just as the purpose of the defense bar ... which I've also been a defense lawyer, so I've been on both sides of the equation here, is to hold the government accountable to its burden of proof. If you lose the essential nature of the role, you fundamentally are ruining the system."
The new program at CSU's College of Law will be supported by a $5 million one-time grant from the state, along with a $2.2 million investment from the university. Officials said the program will support a need in Ohio and beyond for new prosecutors, training about a dozen students per year.
President Laura Bloomberg said the funding from the state will be put to good use.
"The work we do every day to deliver the best possible legal education will be expanded substantially because of a partnership between CSU College of Law and the Office of the Attorney General," she said.
The program, starting in the fall, will include a prosecution clinic and opportunities for students to work with prosecutors across the state, said Carolyn Broering-Jacobs, co-interim dean of the CSU College of Law.
"We will build a mentorship pipeline connecting students with practicing prosecutors across the state," she said. "We will focus on the unique skills that the role of a prosecutor demands, things like judgment, discretion, ethics and the profound responsibility that comes with representing the state. We will expand our reach across Ohio, especially in rural and underserved communities where the need is greatest."
CSU officials were asked about potential conflicts between the prosecution clinic and others at the College of Law, including one regarding wrongful convictions, typically at odds with prosecutors. Officials said the prosecution clinic will be separate.
"While we envision this clinic being part of the (CSU) Criminal Justice Center, organizationally, it actually is independent," said Jonathan Witmer-Rich, co-director of CSU College of Law's Criminal Justice Center. "The director will answer to the deans. They will not answer to the directors of the Criminal Justice Center. It will be housed in a separate space, separate from our other clinical programs, to maintain confidentiality and integrity."
Yost added the $5 million grant from the state is coming from related to a bribery scandal.
After the press conference, 精东影业 asked Bloomberg about Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy floating the idea to combine Ohio鈥檚 universities. Bloomberg said other options should be exhausted first.
"In general, I think what we need to honor is the identity of our campuses," Bloomberg said. "They were formed for a reason. They have an alumni base for a reason. And there are a lot of ways to think about partnerships and strategic partnerships that are far short of consolidation, but achieve the goals of being a more nimble, efficient institution of higher education."
Ramaswamy has since walked back the comments, but still argued universities .
