How often does it have to happen to be considered "much"? Are you saying it has never happened, or is there a certain threshold above which we should be shocked?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

How would the defense lawyer know it if the DA learns something from the cops and fails to disclose it? Mind-reading?

Other than the movies, I just don't know of it happening. You both must have more experience with corrupt prosecutors than I do. Seeing as my personal experience with prosecutors in practically none, tell me about some of these cases.

I also don't understand why they'd do it. They aren't the ones who look bad with open cases.

I can see on some level why they might seek advantages in trying to convict someone they believed to be guilty, but why with someone they knew to be innocent?

http://www.truthinjustice.org/p-pmisconduct.htm

I don't vouch for the site but i have heard of some these cases independantly:

"Illinois: In 1994, Chicago cops used a "reverse lineup" (in which a suspect is asked to identify his victims), along with threats and physical abuse, to coerce 17-year-old Lafonso Rollins into confessing to the rape of an elderly woman. He was convicted and sentenced to 75 years prison, but he was freed in 2004 when DNA proved his innocence. He sued. Discovery in his civil suit disclosed that the police crime lab had excluded him based on blood type before Rollins was ever tried. Oops. The great teamwork cost the city $9 million. Cops & Crime Lab, Working Together"


"Ohio: Derrick Jamison has been released from Ohio's Death Row. His 1985 murder conviction was overturned by two federal courts, which ruled he was denied a fair trial by prosecutors who withheld evidence that might have cleared him. 119th Innocent Person Released from Death Row"

Because all they care about is a conviction. I work as a prosecutor in juvenile court right now and I'm not going to tell you about my cases because it's illegal, but I've seen it done.

Here's one example, from one of my boyfriend's clients: Dude is charged with criminal damage to property because there was a building with the windows smashed. Dude was walking down the street near the building and had some cuts on his hand because he works on an assembly line and a piece of equipment was faulty. Dude's boss and dude's coworkers are all willing to testify he was at work. Rather than drop the charges, the DA railroads him into pleading down to disorderly conduct.

If you are truly interested, you might search the Internet.

Here's a brief synopsis from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/arti...scid=6&did=141

"Prosecutorial or police misconduct played a part in 63% of the convictions that DNA testing by the Innocence Project later overturned. Since 1963, at least 381 murder convictions in the United States have been reversed because of misconduct by police or prosecutors."

Here is one of the worst cases of prosecutorial misconduct ever, straight from my Wrongful Convictions class...

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...ws/case/cases/

Read the one on Roy Criner and read some of the statements from the DA in that case.

Here's another doozy...

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl.../robinson.html

You'd like to think that DNA not matching would at the very least kick it back for another trial if not immediately lead to a pardon, but in several of those cases the DNA wasn't even tested until after the guys were in jail. So some of them lack the kind of knowledge of innocence that I questioned the first time.

Others do show show intentional misconduct which I still find baffling. It so clearly wrong and its hard to see what they gain.

GeekyPenguin, I know that you have to do your job and you don't want to commit career suicide, but if you know of misconduct, you should probably report it whoever represents the appropriate authority.

LOL, usually it IS the appropriate authority. :rolleyes:

Right, but you've got the state bar and whatever the equivalent group is to the one reviewing Nifong's actions in NC.

Prosecutors aren't exempt from following the law.

Wouldn't there be federal recourse if it's a violation of civil rights?

ETA: I'm not sure why I couldn't think of attorney general.

Honestly, this really isn't worth getting into with you. I like that civilians think the justice system is fair.

Well, if everybody on the inside is just working it out for us. . .

Seriously, if you know of misconduct are you free just not to report it?

Geekypenguin . . what is the State Bar's actual authority over prosecutors?

Which of these "higher higher authorities" don't have the continued appearance of shit like "97% conviction rate in our ________!" as their best interests?

I'm not sure you really understand the full reason behind why prosecutorial misconduct occurs - you've got a very "sunshine and roses" thought process, which leads me to believe you've never really spent much time dealing with anything related to criminal prosecution . . . oh, and here's a related note: once these guys are freed, it's cash-in time for various plaintiffs' attorneys nationwide (many of whom specialize in this kind of work).

No one's hands are clean here - and those vacated sentences? Not always because of unilateral innocence.