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PRINCE GEORGE'S County prosecutors have botched an embarrassing number of high-profile cases in recent years. In a particularly mortifying one two years ago, the jury in a first-degree murder trial aquitted a defendant who acted as his own attorney. Still, given the office's rock-bottom salaries, severe shortage of lawyers and crushing caseloads, it's a wonder that prosecutors haven't fumbled more often. Credit Glenn Ivey, the level-headed state's attorney in Prince George's for the past eight years, with doing a fair job under daunting conditions.
Mr. Ivey's planned departure has triggered a scramble to succeed him among five candidates in the Democratic primary on Sept. 14. The winner will oversee 75 prosecutors and thousands of criminal cases each year. (No Republicans are seeking the job.) The best of the bunch is Angela Alsobrooks, who combines prosecutorial experience, management skill, intellectual agility and deft political instincts. She will need all that to improve a struggling office.
