Island County’s own elected prosecuting attorney was chosen to help lead the nation’s largest national organization dedicated to supporting the uniquely important profession.

Members of the National District Attorneys Association, or NDAA, recently elected Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks to a three-year term as a vice president of the organization. He’s been on the organization’s board of directors, representing Washington state, since 2016.

“Besides bringing Washington issues to the nation’s oldest prosecutor organization, I’ve used my position to keep Washington’s prosecutors on the leading edge of national trends and issues affecting criminal justice,” Banks said.

Banks, a South Whidbey resident, has been the county’s elected prosecutor for more than 25 years. It’s a complex job that comes with a great deal of power and responsibility. At its simplest level, the office prosecutes criminals and provides legal advice to governing bodies and the county’s elected officials.

Banks explained that NDAA concerns itself with a long list of often-contentious issues, from prosecution of mass shooting cases to officer-involved shootings to bias in juries and much more.

Banks said he’s been more involved in some issues more than others. He pushed for NDAA to take a stand on challenges to prosecutorial independence. A concern is that a governor or lawmaker might dismiss an elected prosecutor just because they don’t agree with a decision; such a situation happened in Florida not long ago.

As a member of the organization’s board, Banks had the opportunity to review and edit an amicus brief in the Smith v. Arizona case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices, however, ruled 9-0 in favor of Smith, while the NDAA had supported the state in the case about the presentation of forensic evidence.

Banks is also on the NDAA’s Education and Training Committee, its Public Relations Committee, its membership committee and its Audit Committee.