A new crimefighter in town

St. Paul Pioneer Press ^ | 2/18/07 | ELLEN TOMSON

[rhema]

Rachel Paulose is a U.S. attorney who is comfortable quoting Bible verses. She believes it is a blessing to live in a country where a person can take on crime, terror and corruption.

The daughter of immigrants who support her every move, she works herself hard, shorts herself on sleep and sacrifices her social life in the pursuit of justice.

Meeting her for the first time, you might not detect her underlying strengths. She easily disarms you.

Glimpsed down a hallway at the federal courthouse in Minneapolis, she's a slight, 5-foot-6-inch figure who moves gracefully from an open office doorway. She's wearing her dark hair long down her back. She's smiling as she offers a greeting and a handshake.

"The greatest reward is seeing the impact we have on people's lives," she says. That's the kind of statement that normally prompts eye rolls. But Paulose's intensity sidetracks questions about her sincerity.

At 33, she's the youngest current U.S. attorney and the first woman to serve in the position in Minnesota.

She manages some 50 assistant U.S. attorneys in an office that examines and seeks to successfully prosecute the most repulsive and harmful of crimes.

She points with pride to the more-than-20-year prison sentences obtained by her office in three child pornography cases during the past six months and then, referring to predators as yet uncaught, she promises: "We're going to find you, hold you, and you're going to do a long time in federal prison."

"The crimes have become more depraved, more heinous, and the victims are subjected to particularly sadistic forms of abuse that the general public would find unimaginable," she says. "The reality is that good people don't know about this because they're not online looking."

'THIS COUNTRY IS A GIFT TO THE WORLD'

Paulose (pronounced "Paul-us") was 8 when she asked for a Time magazine subscription for her next birthday. She was in elementary school when she organized her first political rally.

Her mother recalls, "She was always interested in understanding what was going on around her — and wanted to make a difference.

"She's very strong in what she believes in, whether it is moral values, spiritual values or effects on society," Lucy Paulose says.

Rachel Paulose's family background and faith are keys to understanding her patriotism and the passion she brings to her work.

"I have a great appreciation of how special this country is," she says. "I believe this country is a gift to the world."

Her grandfather, a government official in India, came to the United States to study theology in the 1960s.

"I have a hard time talking about this without becoming emotional," Paulose says, her eyes suddenly welling with tears. Her family, she explains, "came here hoping for the American dream at a time when the Communists were basically sweeping across Southeast Asia."

Her last name is Greek and derives from a branch of her ancestry that included a Greek Orthodox bishop. Her first name and middle name, Kunjummen, are drawn from the Semitic origins of ancestors from the Middle East. But her family converted to Christianity, most likely in the first century after St. Thomas is said to have traveled to India. She and her family currently attend Plymouth Bible Chapel.

Paulose's grandparents Daniel and Sara Kunjummen have lived in Bloomington for 40 years, but she grew up in Findlay, Ohio, a 30-minute drive from Toledo. Paulose graduated from high school a year early, and the family moved to Minnesota after her mother received job offers here and Paulose was accepted to the University of Minnesota.

Paulose's father, Joseph, is a Hopkins school district administrator and former economics professor in India. Her mother owns Home Electronic Specialists in Hudson, Wis.

They raised Rachel and her younger sister, Elizabeth Schulte, with the idea "you have to have a passion for what you do and should make a difference," says Lucy Paulose. "Enjoy the journey, but make this a better place."

Paulose's parents, as well as an extended family of more than 100 relatives who have settled in the United States, have always provided a tight network of support.

While in high school, Paulose was selected for the American Legion-sponsored Girls State and elected governor in the mock government and citizenship program. She recalls her parents' patience when she changed her mind three times about what she wanted to wear after she was elected Girls State "governor." They drove home to retrieve each outfit.

Throughout high school, college and even while preparing for the bar exam, Paulose's parents stayed up late with her while she studied, providing help, snacks and hot chocolate. After Paulose was accepted to both Harvard and Yale law schools, an uncle accompanied her on a trip to New England to help her decide between the two. When Paulose moved briefly to Washington to work for the Justice Department, another uncle helped her find a place to live and helped her move in. And Paulose's grandfather, who was disappointed when she chose law over medicine after three years as a pre-med student, nevertheless indicated his pride in her by providing her registration fee for law school.

Many family members were present at her Yale Law School commencement to see Paulose, chosen as the law school's representative, carry a banner in the procession.

"So many people in my family had invested in me," she says. "It was the culmination of years and years of hard work by all of us."

'ETHICAL IN EVERYTHING SHE DOES'

In just 10 years, Paulose has compiled an impressive record. After graduating from Yale Law School, she snagged a sought-after position in Minneapolis as a law clerk to James Loken, chief judge of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. She worked for four years in private practice for the Dorsey & Whitney law firm and served in the U.S. Justice Department as an Attorney General's Honors Program trial attorney for the civil rights division.

She also prosecuted criminal and civil cases as an assistant U.S. attorney for Minnesota; served as senior counsel to Acting Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, and as the Justice Department's special counsel for health care fraud.

Nevertheless, her appointment a year ago as U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota was headline news and raised a few eyebrows.

The appointment departed from normal practice. For the first time in decades, an interim U.S. attorney was sent directly from the Department of Justice to fill the job in Minnesota. Traditionally, interim appointees have come from within the Minnesota office, promoted either from first assistant U.S. attorney or chief of the criminal division.

"There were plenty of women who wanted that job — and plenty of men, too," says A.M. "Sandy" Keith, former chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Keith and others who know Paulose describe her as well qualified for her job, which includes taking on corrupt public officials and law enforcement officers — "policing the police," as Paulose describes it.

Hank Shea, a fellow at the University of St. Thomas Law School's Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions, worked with Paulose from 1999 to 2002. The fact that she began working in the U.S. attorney's office as a law student and now leads the office, he says, "shows a real commitment to public service on her part."

"Her integrity is unbelievably high, and she is ethical in everything she does. For the top federal attorney in a state, there are no more important qualities than those."

Paulose works 10 to 12 hours a day, six days a week, and forces herself to leave her office no later than 8 p.m. on some days by scheduling workouts. She's serious in every endeavor she undertakes, including exercise. Kickboxing and karate are her favorite sports.

"I've had my share of injuries," she says during a recent interview in a corner conference room at her office. In fact, her injuries have been numerous, including a concussion and broken collarbone.

She grins as she extends one foot to show the location of a scar and a swollen ankle.

She's normally media shy, prefers press releases to interviews and is particular about how she is portrayed. She refused to have her picture taken in a non-work venue, for example.

"I'm wearing a suit, and I'm going to be in my office," she stated firmly. Her suggestion for the background of the photo? The American flag.

'A FAST LEARNER'

Paulose graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and a Truman Scholar.

Keith met her while she served as a student representative on the university's Board of Regents. Even then, Paulose was a newsmaker, objecting to proposed tuition increases, which she argued would deny poor students access to the university.

Keith, a Yale Law School graduate, became her mentor. He is executive director of the Rochester Downtown Alliance and displays her photo in his office.

After law school, Paulose clerked for Loken from 1997 to 1998. Loken, a Harvard Law School graduate and former longtime partner at Faegre & Benson, receives about 300 applicants for the three clerk positions he offers each year.

"I look for academic superstardom, undergraduate years as well as law school, first and foremost, because that's the most likely guarantor of someone who can do the incredibly difficult analytical work required," says the judge, who assigns his clerks separate cases. He estimates he judges 600 to 800 cases a year, writing 50 to 60 opinions to be published in law books, in addition to writing shorter orders and papers not requiring published opinions.

Because the work is intense and his office is small — just himself, a secretary and the three clerks — he says, "I also look for people who would be fun to spend a year with." Paulose's interview was "delightful and her zeal pretty apparent," he recalls.

Paulose is his "first former clerk to be confirmed by the (U.S.) Senate for anything," Loken notes. She is also likely the only one working as a prosecutor. Most former clerks are in private practice.

"She's come a long way very, very rapidly, and the reason is she's very, very competent and can do the job, obviously," Keith says. "She's tough, a fast learner, very hard working, disciplined, focused and is very, very skilled."

She is also adept at figuring out how an office or organization functions, how to get to know the right people in the right places and what she needs to learn to move up, he says.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appointed Paulose as Minnesota's acting U.S. attorney a year ago. She replaced Thomas Heffelfinger, whom she had worked under previously.

Gonzales has fired some top federal prosecutors, replacing them with attorneys regarded as more conservative and, some critics say, less likely to buck Washington. Some current and former prosecutors allege the changes are an attempt by the Bush administration to curb prosecutors' independence.

The selection of U.S. attorneys has always been a political process, and while Paulose's name is sometimes mentioned in the context of the recent firing and hiring controversy, the circumstances of her appointment and confirmation were different.

Heffelfinger, her predecessor, was expected to continue in the job but surprised the Justice Department when he announced his resignation.

"I left for personal and financial reasons and delayed announcing my departure until the last minute to avoid being a lame duck," Heffelfinger says.

Unlike other new appointees named by Gonzales last March, Paulose was named to her position in mid-February, following Heffelfinger's announcement. And, unlike some other appointees, she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate (in December). Her investiture ceremony is set for next month.

'A SENSE OF MISSION'

The six priorities of her office include terrorism, violent crime, drug trafficking, cybercrime, government and corporate corruption, and civil rights, especially as they relate to human trafficking and housing discrimination.

Her job is a vantage point for Minnesota's worst problems and also involves anticipating worst-case scenarios. As she refers to two high-profile cases charging terrorism, for example, she notes the state's "points of vulnerability," which include a portion of the longest unarmed border in the world, a trucking industry that is among the most active in the country and an inland harbor that is one of the largest in the world.

Ordinary citizens sometimes need to be educated about crime that they may not notice but is taking its societal toll nevertheless. Several months ago, she co-wrote an editorial in an effort to make people more aware of the negative effects of methamphetamine, "the Number 1 narcotics threat in Minnesota." The manufacture and use of the drug harms not just users, she says, but also families and children because people are making it in their garages and homes.

She also wants people to know that human trafficking, a form of modern slavery for sex and labor, is more relevant to Minnesota than most of us realize. Recent immigrant populations, particularly Hmong and Somali, are especially vulnerable. Her office recently indicted one case and is investigating several others in an effort to shut down and deter smuggling rings of human traffickers.

In one case, a professional couple held someone from a developing country as a worker, against the person's will, and paid the person nothing. In other instances, young women are held as sexual slaves and "tortured or threatened to prevent them from escaping," she says.

Paulose refers to her job in the public sector, which is a lot less lucrative than many of the private practice jobs held by her peers, as "a privilege" and "an opportunity to serve." She especially thrives, she says, when she works with others who also "have a sense of mission."

As an appointee with Republican ties, she could be replaced when President Bush leaves office. So, what might be next for Paulose? Politics?

"No!" she says. But she would love to stay in public service and in Minnesota.

She cites a Bible verse, Micah 6:8: " 'What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God. …'

"When I keep my focus on those things, good opportunities appear."

[rhema]

Rachel Paulose, 33, is the youngest U.S. attorney of all those currently serving in the 93 districts under the federal Dept. of Justice and the first woman in the position in Minnesota.

[Ken522]

If ClintonII is elected this woman will likely be fired, like ClintonI did his first day on the job.

[Pete98]

Believes in moral values and the Bible? If she was a white male she'd be hounded from her job by a series of MSM hit pieces naming her a "Christo-facsist Nazi."