Talk about timing.
Roscoe C. Howard shifted from the relative calm of teaching law students at Kansas University to the maelstrom of running the largest U.S. attorney's office in the country at one of its most turbulent moments in history.
"It's a fairly stark difference," said Howard, who was confirmed as U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., on Sept. 14 but was sworn in Aug. 20 just a few weeks before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks sent shockwaves through the country and altered the dynamics of Howard's new job.
"It was a very hectic time," he said. "We were, I wouldn't say scrambling, but it creates havoc in any office. When you realize a lot of the activity was aimed at the District of Columbia, it changes how you do your work when you're the prosecutor."
The 350 attorneys who work for Howard's D.C. office handle a lot of high-profile cases.
Espionage, the death of U.S. citizens abroad and fraud or malfeasance in federal agencies are typical among the office's caseload. The case against California Rep. Gary Condit involving missing Washington intern Chandra Levy originated in Howard's office.
Since Sept. 11, the office has been deeply involved with anthrax investigations and U.S. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft's mandate to all U.S. attorneys to help federal agents interview 5,000 young men of Middle Eastern descent.
No more surprises
The latter drew sharp criticism from civil rights groups across the country, who said the interviews amounted to ethnic profiling. Howard said his office met with Muslim and Arab populations in Washington, D.C., to talk about the interviews.
"I don't think there was a perfect solution," he said. "It's been kind of a new and different day. We're trying to reach out to all the resources at our disposal. Some of them were these young men. Clearly, Sept. 11 surprised us all, and we're trying to make sure we don't get surprised again."
One thing that hasn't surprised Howard is that, as head of the D.C. office in particular, he's under a public microscope.
"There's a lot of media coverage here," he said. "A lot of our cases probably get scrutiny that some other districts' might not because we are the nation's capital."
It's not as if Howard were ill-prepared.
In the mid-1980s, he spent four years in the Washington office as an assistant U.S. attorney. A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, Howard practiced in the D.C. area from 1978 until 1994, working two of those years in the U.S. attorney's office in Alexandria, Va., and spending several years as associate independent counsel to Arlin Adams, who was investigating the Housing and Urban Development agency. It turned out to be the longest-running independent counsel investigation in history, resulting in prison terms for a handful of former HUD officials and outside consultants.
Teaching at KU
In 1994, Howard began his teaching career at KU's law school. He took a one-year leave of absence to serve as associate independent counsel with Donald Smaltz in the fraud, false statements and gratuities investigation and trial of former Secretary of Agriculture A. Michael Espy.
Howard's years of service in the D.C. area worked in his favor when it came to his appointment as U.S. attorney. One of the people on the Republican transition team was a high school classmate who knew of his work and suggested his name to the Justice Department transition team.
Howard said he's grateful to be recognized for his hard work.
"It's a great job," he said. "There are 93 U.S. attorneys in the country. As one person pointed out to me, there are fewer U.S. attorneys than U.S. senators. You're a presidential appointment. It's a terrific honor."
Until August, Howard taught classes on subjects like criminal procedure and white-collar crime at KU. He said that running a federal attorney's office and teaching law students are different beasts entirely.
"Clearly my hours are longer, my days are longer. I get a lot more requests for interviews," he said, chuckling.
But Howard found teaching to be every bit as taxing in different respects.
"You're in charge of the care and nurturing of people who are about to take these jobs on, which I think is about as challenging as anything," he said. "You have to make sure that they're competent, capable and understand the gravity of what they're being asked to take on."
Jumping into the fire
It's easy to become jaded about the political process, said KU law professor Rob Porter. But when someone like Howard lands a lofty appointment, it restores faith in merit, he said.
"It's the kind of story you want to share with students," Porters said. "He's a personable, dedicated civil servant who was acknowledged for it."
Howard's perfectly suited to run a large office, said Law Professor Kim Dayton.
"He's really outgoing. He has a huge amount of respect for people," she said.
And he loves to laugh, a trait that's likely helped him and his colleagues get through tough times these past several months.
"It is a high-pressure situation. Talk about jumping into the fire," Dayton said. "I think you need someone like him in a time like that."
When he's not at work, Howard catches up with old friends, plays basketball, and tries to stay on top of a novel.
"You want to get your head out of the law periodically to remind yourself there's another world out there," said Howard, who turned 50 on Friday.
He returns to Lawrence every other weekend to see his wife, Deborah, and their two sons, Ryan, 13, and Adam, 11. He hopes his family will be able to move closer soon, but he hasn't ruled out returning to KU when his four-year term expires.
"Right now, I am actually officially on leave from KU," he said. "Hopefully, I'd be welcome back there."
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