HUFFINGTON
08.04.13
THE UNTOUCHABLES
caused a conviction to be overturned. Only one prosecutor was
significantly disciplined.
The 2011 Yale Law Journal survey
of state disciplinary systems also
found a host of problems with the
way misconduct complaints against
prosecutors are handled. In many
states, for example, the entire disciplinary process occurs in secret, ostensibly to protect the reputation of
the accused attorneys. (Nevermind
that the people who were harmed
by the misconduct weren’t afforded
the same courtesy.)
In some states, prosecutors
are given the option of admitting
wrongdoing and accepting a private reprimand, meaning neither
their actions nor the disciplinary
board’s investigation will ever be
made public. That hides the misconduct from the media, from defense attorneys and from the voters who elect these prosecutors.
Secrecy also makes it more difficult
to assess the pervasiveness of misconduct. Only one state, Illinois,
publishes data on the number of
complaints its disciplinary board
has received and investigated.
The Yale review also found
that some complaint processes
are needlessly complicated. As of
2011, only four states offered the
ability to file complaints online.
Mississippi reminds potential
complainants that “all lawyers are
human,” and warns of the damaging consequences of unfounded
complaints. In 23 states, complainants have no option to appeal
if their complaint is dismissed.
The survey concluded that in too
many states, “complaints must
“A Brady violation is by
definition a cover-up.
So we only know about
the violations that
have been exposed.”
work their way through a byzantine structure” of procedures. It
wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say
that most states have more checks
to protect prosecutors from false
misconduct complaints than they
have to protect residents from
false convictions.
Even when misconduct is exposed, it doesn’t necessarily slow
down a prosecutor’s career. In
Mississippi, for example, District
Attorney Forrest Allgood has repeatedly used expert forensic
witnesses whose credibility and
credentials have been widely criticized by other forensic specialists.
Two men Allgood has convicted of