HUFFINGTON
08.04.13
THE UNTOUCHABLES
witnesses into giving false or misleading testimony. But one of the
most pervasive misdeeds is the
Brady violation, or the failure to
turn over favorable evidence to
the defendant. It’s the most common form of misconduct cited by
courts in overturning convictions.
The name refers to the 50-yearold Supreme Court decision in
Brady v. Maryland, which required prosecutors to divulge such
information, like deals made with
state’s witnesses, crime scene
evidence that could be tested for
DNA, information that could discredit a state’s witness and portions of police reports that could
be favorable to the defendant. But
there’s very little to hold prosecutors to the Brady obligation.
Courts most commonly deal
with misconduct by overturning
convictions. To get a new trial,
however, a defendant must not
only show evidence of prosecutorial miscon