Kamala Harris’s Secret Weapon

There’s a common misperception about who prosecutors are and what they do. I’m loath to reveal this because, as a former prosecutor myself, it generally works to my advantage. But I’ll pop the balloon.

Contrary to what we’ve all seen in movies and on TV, prosecutors are not, in fact, swashbuckling, badass courtroom gunslingers. Real criminal cases aren’t won with Sleepers-style surprise witnesses, or A Few Good Men–style cross-examination beatdowns, or The...