U.S. Attorney Jane Young is the top federal prosecutor in New Hampshire. She was appointed to that role by President Joe Biden in 2022, and she has worked in the state’s Department of Justice for over 30 years, including time as the deputy attorney general. Young is now resigning from her position, effective Jan. 17, as President-elect Trump takes office from Biden.
NHPR Morning Edition host Rick Ganley asks her about why she decided to retire now, and what cases will stick with her from her time as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Hampshire.
Transcript
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
You're resigning as President Trump takes office from President Biden, who appointed you. It's not unusual for U.S. attorneys to step down during a change in administrations, but was there any part of you that wanted to stay on?
I think that any administration, when they're coming in, has a vision for what their administration wants to do. When you come into these roles, you have a limited period of time, and I did not want to be an impediment to the new administration. I wanted to gracefully exit so they had one less thing to worry about when they took office in a couple of weeks.
Your role is to enforce federal laws here in New Hampshire, as opposed to the state attorney general who focuses on state law enforcement. What case is most significant to you that you prosecuted during your time on the job as you look back?
As I look back over the past two and a half years, I would note that while we are prosecutors of federal crimes, any crime that happens in New Hampshire happens within a community in New Hampshire, in a city or a town. So as the federal agency, we were able to bring assets, we were able to bring new laws.
The cases that I would point to as being the most impactful was the day that a student was outside of Portsmouth High School, pointed a gun, posted it saying that he was going to shoot up the school. I cannot imagine the fright that went through families when they realized that. Having a prior relationship with the police chief, I called him – as I have done with many chiefs over my tenure – and [said], ‘What can we do to help you? This fits the definition of a federal crime. Would you like us to help you?’
I have a particular memory of doing a case that was a successful prosecution of somebody who stole from an employer, and I got a call from a county attorney saying, ‘Can you help us? We've had this case for a little over a year, and we just haven't been able to develop it.’ We took that case, and a woman was charged with stealing from The Dartmouth, the student newspaper where she worked. So we were always there to lend a helping hand. If it didn't fit a federal crime, we helped them as to what state avenue they could pursue.
(Editor’s note: The person who made shooting threats at Portsmouth High School, Kyle Hendrickson, was not a student.)
In 2023, you partnered with the state attorney general to highlight a rise in hate crimes in New Hampshire. Your office also added a position focusing on civil rights. Is your office still seeing an increase in hate crimes here?
We are still getting contacts about individuals, but what we have been doing a lot is going into the communities. We were in the Portsmouth community in December talking to individuals.
Part of the role of that is prosecution, but also education to understand what comments are protected by the First Amendment and where that line is, so that if you have to have a hard conversation with a community or an individual, that it doesn't rise to the level of a crime they understand. And so we have tried to do the best that we can to get out into communities to send that message and educate them.
I imagine that doesn't satisfy everyone all the time.
It doesn't. In understanding where they are or what's happening to them, it's very clear that it doesn't and it shouldn't. But the law is the law.
Crime overall is down across New Hampshire and in cities like Manchester, but I think a common perception is that crime rates are rising. What do you think about that disconnect as a prosecutor?
I think that when a crime happens to you or in your community, you don't care about the statistics. You care about that matter being addressed effectively and appropriately and for a perpetrator being held accountable.
I have no illusion that we will stop drug trafficking, but we certainly want to make it uncomfortable for people to come to New Hampshire to know that there will be a consequence. So that has been a focus to say if you come to New Hampshire, you will be held accountable for the crime once you are adjudicated guilty.
Before we wrap up, I want to ask what's next for you?
I have been blessed to have a great career. I am a prosecutor at heart, but I'm also a public servant, and so I will explore any opportunity that is presented to me.
