More Than a Slap on the Wrist for Misbehaving Prosecutors
A new California law makes it less appealing for prosecutors to withhold evidence from defense attorneys. Amid an unprecedented wave of misconduct scandals, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law last week, giving judge’s more power to boot a prosecutor from a case if he or she chooses to withhold evidence.
Not only may prosecutors be booted, but they can face disbarment. The law requires any court who finds that a prosecutor has withheld evidence to report that prosecutor to the state bar. While it was already against the law for prosecutors to withhold evidence, there has been an uptick in the number of cases where prosecutors, and their teams, have been accused of violating defendants’ rights.
According to Deputy Public Defender Scott Sanders, of Orange County, prosecutors have spent the last 30 years presenting only selective evidence from a certain jailhouse information network. Because of Sander’s revelations, several murder cases have been shattered and accused murderers have walked free.
The worse allegations of prosecutorial misconduct culminated this year, when a judge threw out an entire county office, 250 prosecutors in all, from a mass murder case. Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals said that the government committed due process violations. The district attorney in that case maintains to this day that no person in his office behaved inappropriately.
In the past, prosecutors accused of such misconduct had few consequences. A report released by Northern California Innocence Project states that there were more than 700 cases of misconduct within the state of California between 1997 and 2009. Only six prosecutors were disciplined in those cases.
The new law hopes to remedy the situation. With harsh consequences in place, up to and including disbarment, it is hoped that prosecutors will think twice before trying to skirt the law in order to win a case. Whether the law works or not is something everyone will have to wait to see.
If you have been accused of a crime, please call our offices today. Our criminal defense attorneys are here for you. We will vigorously defend your rights in court. Call today for a free case evaluation.
Stephen Levine, is a Board Certified Specialist in Criminal Defense — an honor achieved by only the top criminal law attorneys in California. Mr. Levine has over 40 years of experience in criminal defense and family law serving Southern California, and is a highly regarded Super Lawyer as well as AV Rated attorney.