Philip Foust, Candidate for Marion Co Prosecutor Joins

**Nigel** (0:04)
You're listening to The Hammer and Nigel Show. Hello, my name is Nigel Jason Hammer, right over there with a very special in-studio guest.

**Hammer** (0:11)
Been talking a lot about the crime, specifically since Memorial Day weekend here in Central Indy. And candidate for Marion Co. Prosecutor, Philip Foust joins us in studio.
Philip, how the heck are you, man? Good to see you.

**Philip Foust** (0:25)
Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm doing well personally, but professionally, I'm pretty fired up.
I think we're all fed up with the status quo here in Marion County and ready for something different.

**Nigel** (0:37)
What is the status quo, in your opinion, right now?

**Philip Foust** (0:40)
I think the status quo, it's coddling criminals. We can't have any more of that.

**Hammer** (0:44)
And that kind of goes back to the violent, repeat offender argument that we've been having for a long time here. Philip, do you think it's just the prosecutor's office, like judges have a big role in this too?

**Philip Foust** (0:58)
Undoubtedly, there's lots of people who have roles in it. Judges, you can think about the role for police and whatnot. But we know that the police are doing their job day in, day out. The prosecutor's job is not being done.
And even if you have tough judges, listen, I prosecuted cases in front of lenient judges. I prosecuted cases in front of tough judges. And the prosecutor doesn't just get to throw their hands up in the air and say, Oh, it's the judge's fault. It's our job as prosecutors day after day to come in and fight for the public, fight for victims, and to fight for justice.

**Hammer** (1:34)
What is your background, Philip?

**Philip Foust** (1:37)
So my background, I was born in Indiana, raised in Pike Township, went to IEPY for undergrad, went to Harvard for law school.

**Hammer** (1:45)
Harvard Law? I once had a sweatshirt that said Harvard Law that I would wear to townie bars in Beech Grove.

**Nigel** (1:52)
That's your Harvard story?

**Hammer** (1:53)
That's my Harvard story.

**Nigel** (1:55)
I had a Harvard sweatshirt.

**Hammer** (1:57)
Look at this guy, Harvard Law. Someone get me a PBR.

**Philip Foust** (2:02)
I've never tried that one, I guess.

**Nigel** (2:06)
The guy that actually graduated Harvard Law probably doesn't have any merch. From Harvard Law.

**Philip Foust** (2:13)
While I was at Harvard, I knew I wanted to come back and be a prosecutor. So my first summer there, I came back and interned under Carl Brizzi at the time. It's been a few years at a large international law firm after law school, paying off my debt, then came back and served under Terry Curry, and then Ryan Mears for a period of time because for me, this prosecution doesn't necessarily have to be a partisan issue.

**Hammer** (2:36)
I'm glad you bring that up because you've got Brizzi and you've got Curry. Here are two guys that were on different sides of the political aisle. You've got an R, you've got a D, but it felt like the job was still being done and justice wasn't a partisan issue. Does that make sense?

**Philip Foust** (2:53)
It does because, I mean, Terry could clearly see from my resume that I had a different political background than his that we probably disagreed on a whole host of issues. But Terry understood the basic assignment, enforce the law, seek justice for victims, protect the public, and he maintained a good relationship with police.
Many of us were just surprised how quickly Ryan Mears took the office of current director.

**Nigel** (3:16)
Yeah, so there was a difference because you worked under Mears for a little while. I'm not asking for like dirt or anything like that. That's something Hammer and I do together. You know, like we talk the trash. I'm just asking for differences between all three of those guys and the current prosecutor.

**Philip Foust** (3:33)
Absolutely.
So it came as a surprise to many of us how quickly and how dramatically he shifted the office from one that basically understood that the main job was to enforce the law to an ideological office. One where you're basically rewriting the laws as the prosecutor. One where you are acting more as a defense attorney rather than as a prosecutor, and where you have laid down a marker that you're not going to partner with police or any of the other partners that it requires for public safety. In a county this size, it's an all hands on deck approach to public safety. And he has systematically alienated police, surrounding prosecutors, the state prosecuting attorneys council, everyone at the state house, everyone that you would need if you wanted to actually proactively work to address public safety.