Can Brooklyn’s New U.S. Attorney Help Restore Faith in Law Enforcement?

Breon S. Peace, who went to high school in Crown Heights, is taking over as top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn at a precarious moment.

Clifford Jones spent three decades in prison for rape and murder, crimes he knew he did not commit. So even as his yearslong effort to clear his name advanced through New York’s courts, he feared the criminal justice system would fail him again.

But he drew confidence from his lawyer, Breon S. Peace.

“I would always watch Breon — he’s cool, like James Bond,” Mr. Jones said. A partner at an elite corporate law firm, Mr. Peace led the pro bono legal team that secured Mr. Jones a new evidentiary hearing in state court, paving the way for his 2016 exoneration and a $12.5 million settlement.