Study Reveals 200 Cases of Prosecutor Misconduct; Taxpayers Pay Millions

November 06, 2010

An investigation by the USA Today has revealed over 200 cases of prosecutorial misconduct. Federal prosecutors were found to have violated laws and imprisoned innocent people. Now, guilty citizens are being released on technicalities and taxpayers are footing the bill.

The scathing report indicates the Department of Justice prosecutors concealed evidence, violated ethical rules, lied in court to juries and judges, and broke plea bargains made with defendants.

No Accountability

Despite the widespread abuse of prosecutor power, accountability seems to be rare. Just a single federal prosecutor has been punished for misconduct in the past 12 years.

Alexander Bunin, the chief federal public defender of Albany, N.Y., said these findings are "the tip of the iceberg" and that "many more cases of misconduct by prosecutors will never be uncovered."

Devastating Consequences of Misconduct

The results of a prosecutor's wrongdoing are devastating to wrongfully convicted defendants. Many defendants serving time lose their jobs and careers, business, savings and reputations. And for some defendants, prosecutorial misconduct means they will spend years of their lives in prison.

An Arizona woman spent eight years in federal prison after being convicted of bank robbery. Prosecutors hid evidence that another woman, almost identical in appearance to the defendant, was charged with holding up banks in the area.

Judges threw out murder convictions of two Washington D.C. men after it was shown that prosecutors concealed evidence that two other men most likely committed the crime. The exoneration came 20 years after the crime was committed.

The investigation revealed that approximately $5.3 million was spent in legal bills for defendants wrongly accused of crimes. In California, prosecutors took one man to trial three times in four years in order to convict him of tax fraud; a conviction tossed out by an appeals court because the prosecutor "sat silently as his witness lied."

Unfortunately, critics of the system say there is no easy or quick way to fix prosecutorial misconduct. Bennet Gershman, Pace University law professor and expert on prosecutorial misconduct, said that "there is no accountability" and that "the system is not able to control this kind of behavior."

Contact an Attorney

Defendants are urged to hire a criminal defense attorney experienced in prosecutorial misconduct. An attorney can be an invaluable asset to exposing the problem and seeking compensation for those wrongfully accused.

If you face federal criminal charges in Las Vegas, Nevada, contact an experienced Clark County criminal defense trial lawyer.

Article provided by Oronoz Law Offices - Las Vegas Trial Lawyers
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