Strauss-Kahn Case Tarnishes DA

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance is on the defensive after this week’s stunning revelations that there were holes in the case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. It’s the latest high-profile loss for Vance, coming only weeks after two NYPD officers were acquitted of rape and in the same week two safety inspection officers were acquitted for involvement in the 2007 Deutsche Bank building fire. Both prosecutions began under Vance’s successor, Robert Morgenthau, who served 35 years as Manhattan’s prosecutor before retiring at the age of 91 in 2009. One criminal defense attorney, Steven Miller, called the Strauss-Kahn case “a huge embarrassment” for Vance—and the whole U.S. criminal justice system.