A plaque hangs on the wall in the Cayuga County District Attorney's office. It is not in a conspicuous spot. It hangs in a corner, and is easily overlooked.

But when asked to describe his philosophy during his tenure as district attorney, James Vargason pointed right to the plaque, which is engraved with a quote by Frederick Nietzsche.

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that the process does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss always looks into you.”

That plaque will be coming down next week, as the county will see its first new district attorney in 16 years. And as Vargason, 47, discussed his four terms as the county's highest law enforcement officer, he said he has tried to be a prosecutor who does not let the ends justify the means.

“I have always maintained that not all arrests are proper, and not all proper arrests require a conviction,” Vargason said while sitting in his downtown Auburn office. “As district attorney, I have needed to be able to recognize when a good person has made an isolated bad decision.”

Vargason said he has had to recognize when a criminal commits a criminal act. Because he takes that part of his job so seriously, he said he believes some people may have picked up the notion that he is not an approachable person - not a regular guy.

“It is too bad, because I am a regular guy,” Vargason said. “But when parents are looking at me to prosecute the person who molested their child, they are looking for me to be the quintessential effective prosecutor. They want me to be better than a regular guy.”

Growing up in Cayuga County, Vargason did not always have the goal to go into law, he said. In fact, when he was a college senior, he was en route towards flying jets for the Marine Corps. He had even passed his officer candidacy.

But instead, Vargason attended law school at Syracuse University. After he worked in a private firm for a few years, he became “disillusioned” with private practice, he said. In 1991, he decided to take the prosecution route and ran for district attorney.

“I still couldn't tell you exactly why I went to law school,” Vargason said. “I was always interested in the process of the criminal justice system and holding criminals accountable. It was a natural step.”

When Vargason took on the position in January 1992, his main goal was to “modernize and professionalize” the office, he said.

As the years went on, those goals evolved.

“Running a district attorney's office is very different today than it was even 10 years ago,” Vargason said. “The sheer volume of cases has changed the face of prosecuting.”

With state and federal mandates adding to the workload, and technology bringing new crimes such as identity theft to the courtroom, Vargason sought grant money to start programs for local crime victims and crime prevention.

He said many of those programs are among the accomplishments of which he is most proud, including a program that assists women who are victims of violence, a check enforcement program to help businesses fight phony check-writers, and a program called Operation Teen Proof that works to keep teenagers from obtaining fake licenses.

In the courtroom, Vargason brings a sense of intensity to his cases, said Cayuga County Surrogate Judge Mark Fandrich. Though he began working as a surrogate judge in 2002, Fandrich said he has known Vargason as an attorney for 20 years. Vargason has grown in the office and honed his prosecution skills over the years, Fandrich said.

“(Vargason) is one of the most accomplished trial attorneys I have seen,” Fandrich said. “He is very well organized, and he cares deeply about the cases he is involved with.”

Vargason said he is also proud of what he described as a reputation for being a “firm but fair” prosecutor inside the courtroom.

He said he has tried some difficult cases, but added that he has “no regrets” when he looks back over his tenure.

That includes the case of Roy Brown, who was convicted by a jury and sent to prison for the murder of Sabrina Kulakowski. Earlier this year, Brown's conviction was overturned in light of DNA evidence and was released after 15 years in prison.

Vargason said that accusations of mishandling that case are unfounded. The case was tried in front of a jury who found a man guilty based on the best evidence available at the time, and appellate courts upheld the conviction, he said.

When the science existed to properly test the DNA evidence, the correct thing was done, Vargason said.

“He was entitled to win his freedom, and he did,” said Vargason, who inherited the case when he took office in 1992. “I don't consider it a footnote in my career.”

Vargason said that when people look over his time as district attorney, he hopes they think of a person who cared about the community and about getting things right.

He said he hopes people remember the man who came up with the idea of a child victim interview room as much as they remember the man who has secured guilty verdicts for almost 200 felony grand jury indictments.

Vargason added that he still keeps letters and correspondences from crime victims who have thanked him for his work, he said.

“These little things are important, and I consider them part of my legacy,” Vargason said. “They make a difference in people's lives.”

When Vargason announced this spring that he was not going to seek a fifth term, it was not because of the Brown case, or that he lost the election for the Cayuga County Judge position in 2006, he said.

He had accomplished everything he wanted to accomplish in the office.

In fact, Vargason said that while the election left him with an “odd feeling,” it also opened doors for him.

Now he can catch up on some reading on vacation in Florida with his wife, Anne, while he decides on a number of “very exciting” career opportunities that he did not yet want to disclose.

“I think I still have a few good years left in me,” Vargason joked. “I'm thrilled about where I am right now.”

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net