Breaking the Rules
Who suffers
when a prosecutor is cited for misconduct?
Local prosecutors in many of the 2,341
jurisdictions across the nation have stretched, bent or broken
rules to win convictions, the Center has found. Since 1970,
individual judges and appellate court panels cited
prosecutorial misconduct as a factor when dismissing charges,
reversing convictions or reducing sentences in over 2,000
cases. In another 500 cases, appellate judges offered
opinions—either dissents or concurrences—in which they found
the misconduct warranted a reversal. In thousands more, judges
labeled prosecutorial behavior inappropriate, but upheld
convictions using a doctrine called “harmless error.”
Misconduct by prosecutors led to the conviction of
innocent individuals who were later exonerated. Guilty
defendants have also had their convictions overturned and are
placed back on the street. In addition, the Center found many
prosecutors who were cited multiple times for misconduct.
These prosecutors give recidivism—a word usually used to
describe those they work to put behind bars—a disturbing new
meaning. >> |
