Arizona adopts a revised version of Model Rule 3.8 rule on prosecutors duties

The newly adopted rule is available here.

Center for Prosecutor Integrity to create a registry of prosecutorial misconduct

The Center for Prosecutor Integrity has just issued this press release, announcing the the receipt of a grant to establish a Registry of Prosecutorial Misconduct.

A public defender's comments on prosecutor misconduct

A few minutes ago I posted a note on a recent case on prosecutorial misconduct.  I then found a comment on the case (and more general issues related to due process in our criminal justice system) over at A Public Defender's blog.  That post is available here.

Conviction reversed - but no sanctions imposed - for prosecutor's improper comments

The Legal Ethics Forum recently posted a link to a story in the Connecticut Law Tribune about a decision of the state's supreme court overturning a conviction because of a prosecutor's improper comments.  Specifically, the prosecutor claimed the prosecutor acted improperly by repeatedly asserting during her  closing argument that both the defendant and his lawyer were asking the jury to "condone child abuse," that the defendant's testimony was "coached," and that the defense strategy was a game of "smoke and mirrors."

The court's opinion is available here.  The court's analysis on the question of the improper comments starts on page 11.

This is an interesting question.  I am not too bothered by the "smoke and mirrors" comment.  Even though it is clear that a prosecutor is not allowed to express his or her opinion on the credibility of a witnesses, I think this comment is within the acceptable limits of rhetoric.  It is just a way to say that the defendant's evidence is weak and that the juror's should not be confused by it. 

The comment on "coached" testimony is a closer call because it does come close to being an opinion on the credibility of the witness and suggests unethical conduct of the defense attorney.  It does sound like the prosecutor is saying "I believe the witness was not telling the truth."  However, I am not sure the comment was quite that clear.  Obviously "coached" is a term that has negative connotations but it seems to me it is just a comment on the demeanor of the witness and the general credibility of the testimony.  If that was all there was, I am not sure I would have overturned the conviction.

The first comment (the one about condoning child abuse), though, is of a different nature.  First of all, although it sounds like a statement of fact, it also was really a statement of opinion, and that opinion was questionable.  Second, it was probably not based on the evidence.  Third, it was used to stir emotions,  And, lastly, it was a cheap shot at the defendant's lawyer.

Based on this one comment, I agree the conviction should have been reversed. The court's analysis is very good.  The only thing I would add is that I think the court should have imposed sanctions on the prosecutor.  

Former Texas DA (now a judge) disbarred in case of wrongful conviction after failure to disclose exculpatory evidence

In March of 2012, the TV show 60 Minutes had a segment on the controversy over the conduct of a former Texas prosecutor who was accused of failing to disclose exculpatory evidence which resulted in the wrongful conviction of an innocent man. The innocent man spent about 25 years in prison until he was exonerated thanks to DNA evidence.  That evidence also disclosed the identity of the actual killer in the case.

I first reported on the case here (where you can also watch the full 60 minutes segment).  As the investigation on the case progressed, I reported later (here) that an investigating judge had found probable cause against the former prosecutor.  (There are more links to other articles on the case there too.)

Now the case is back in the news because it was recently reported (also here) that the prosecutor was sentenced to ten days in jail - yes, you read correctly; ten days!  The sentence is actually for contempt of court for lying during the investigation of the incident.

Fortunately, that was not the only punishment.  The judge has been disbarred and removed from the bench.  It is too bad it took so long to get to this point. 

Update 1/7/2014:  The Huffington Post has a short comment on the case here.

On the relationship between prosecutors and the police.

About a week ago we discussed in class how a prosecutor must perform three different roles in one.  Prosecutors are part of the law enforcement team, they are also lawyers who litigate cases and they are "ministers of justice" who are supposed to make sure the rights of the accused are not violated. 

Right on cue, the Prosecutor's Discretion blog has jut published a short interesting post on the relationship between prosecutors and the police.  It starts like this: 

There is a difficult dance that we prosecutors perform with the police. One would think that we are on the same team and that it would be easy to get along with those on our team. I see officers on a daily basis and ... I have great respect for the job that they do.

But it is a different job than mine. A police officer ... has great discretion in how to conduct an investigation and whether to arrest a person, write a ticket, or come to an equitable resolution. The prosecutor's job is to do justice, and with that we are vested with prosecutorial discretion  ...

You can read the full post here.

How should you behave during court appearance

A few basic tips here.  My students will appreciate the first rule under "school rules."

San Jose mercury news article on Stephen Glass oral argument

Earlier I posted the video of the oral argument in the Stephen Glass case and a link to the briefs in the case. My take on the oral argument was that it did not go well for Glass. Apparently, the San Jose Mercury News agrees with me, concluding that "The California Supreme Court on Wednesday showed no signs of sympathy regarding Glass' bid for a license to practice law." You can read the article here.

Thanks to the Legal Ethics Forum for the link.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court announces revisions to rules of professional conduct.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has announced revisions to its Rules of Professional Conduct.  The Legal Profession blog has more information here.

Briefs in the Stephen Glass case

Earlier tonight I posted the video of the oral argument in the Stephen Glass case.  Here is a link to an article where you can find the briefs filed in the case. 

Thanks to the Legal Ethics Forum for the link.