Monday, August 20, 2018

Dept of Justice is challenging Tennessee Supreme Court's Bd on Professional Responsibility

A few days ago I wrote about a new opinion by the Board on Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court stating what is the generally accepted view on a prosecutor's duty to disclose exculpatory evidence.  See here.

This generally accepted view is that the ethical duty to disclose exculpatory evidence is broader than the duty established by Brady v. Maryland.  The ABA adopted this interpretation in Formal Opinion 09-454 and the Tennessee Supreme Court's Board of Professional Responsibility reiterated it earlier this year.

Yet, the US Department of Justice's three district attorneys in Tennessee sent a scathing 10-page letter demanding to appear before the board—a hearing that has now been scheduled for September.  As reported in the ABA Journal online, "[i]t’s the kind of little-noticed move the department makes all the time but could have a lasting impact on the criminal justice system."

The article in the ABA Journal online has more details.

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