New organization in New York (called "Accountability NY") Is A Coalition Of Law Professors And Public-Interest Groups Seeking Professional Consequences For Prosecutorial Misconduct

Long time readers of this blog know that I have complained many times that not enough is done to combat prosecutorial misconduct.  This is the case, in part, because defense lawyers who come across misconduct know that the prosecutors they would have to report are the same prosecutors who they will have to deal with in other cases, and they fear that reporting them to the authorities could come back to "bite them" and their clients later.

So what if the defense lawyers could get other lawyers to present and argue the complaints of misconduct for them?  

This seems to be the idea behind a new group in New York called "Accountability New York."  You can read more about the group in its website or listen to a report below by clicking the "play button."

 

The organization is beginning its work by filing 21 complaints to New York’s court-appointed grievance committees, which are tasked with investigating attorney wrongdoing.  Two of the complaints relate to a finding last March, by a Queens judge that three men had served 24 years in prison after they had been wrongfully convicted because of misconduct by two prosecutors who had made false statements at trial and who failed to turn over exculpatory evidence.

As a result, Accountability NY has filed professional complaints against those prosecutors and nineteen other current and former prosecutors who have been criticized by judges for misconduct in the past. Some of the group’s complaints seek disbarment. Others recommend suspensions.

You can read more about the organization and the case decided last March here.