Nassau County District Attorney
Despite Democratic losses throughout Nassau County in 2009, Rice defeated her Republican opponent by more than eight percentage points.
Rice has received national attention for her prosecution of drunk-drivers who kill or seriously injure their victims. She has also received attention for her efforts combat drugs using a combination of traditional law enforcement methods and community-based social service opportunities for non-violent offenders. In 2007, Rice became the first local district attorney in New York history to form a Medicaid Fraud Unit.
Rice has been criticized for failing to prosecute a Hofstra University freshman in the fall of 2009 who lied about a gang rape. The freshman reported that she was raped by 5 men, resulting in their arrest and imprisonment for several days. When a cell phone video surfaced showing that the girl was a willing, consensual, and active participant in the orgy, Rice freed the 5 men, but declined to prosecute the girl for filing a false report. Joy Watson, a prosecutor looking to run against Rice for District Attorney, said that she would have prosecuted the case.
In 2009, the Long Island Press newspaper ranked Rice the #3 most powerful person on Long Island.
Read more about this topic: Kathleen Rice
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