A few days ago, I commented on a case in Washington DC where the Office of Bar Counsel's recommendation of censure for prosecutorial misconduct was rejected by the Disciplinary Board which recommended a stiffer sentence. I have read elsewhere that DC has a reputation for not imposing harsh discipline and now there is news of another case that supports this view.
The new case, reported in the Blog of the Legal Times, involves a federal prosecutor with a “history of repeated, blatant Brady violations” (as determined by a judge's findings) and who was found to have made false statements to a judge. Yet, despite the finding of the history of violations and the most recent incident, the Office of Bar Counsel recommended only a formal admonition.
Needless to say, as I have argued so many times before, this is not the way to discourage prosecutorial misconduct.
Seeking Justice has a comment on the case here.
