defense link - Federal Community Defender Office

DEFENSE LINK
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FOR CJA PANEL ATTORNEYS
LEIGH M. SKIPPER, CHIEF FEDERAL DEFENDER
DECEMBER 2013
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
When Prosecutors
Behave Unethically –
What’s to be Done?
When Prosecutors Behave Unethically –
What’s to be Done?
by Leslie Jones-Collins, Paralegal, Trial Unit
Page 1
Recent Third Circuit and
Supreme Court Cases Page 4
CALL FOR
SUBMISSIONS
The Federal Community Defender
Office for the Eastern District of
PA invites our CJA Panel
members to submit original articles
for publication in our monthly
Defense Link newsletter. We seek
topics that will be of interest to
criminal law practitioners in our
district.
Articles should be a
maximum of 500 words and must
be
drafted
in
Word
or
WordPerfect. Please forward all
submissions to Kim Campoli,
Paralegal/Panel Administrator at
Prosecutorial overreaching and misconduct distort the truth-finding
process and taint the credibility of the criminal justice system,
including the outcomes they generate.
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Empowered with the authority to make game-changing decisions from the
beginning of an investigation through post-conviction litigation, prosecutors
hold a unique position in the criminal justice system. But, what’s to be done
when the overly zealous prosecutor – convinced of the righteousness of her
case – develops “tunnel vision” and sticks to a conclusion of guilt in the face
of many contradictory circumstances? Create a database that collects and
compiles cases involving misbehaving prosecutors? Indeed.
In a November 2013 press release, the Center for Prosecutor Integrity
(“CPI”) announced the receipt of a grant to establish a national Registry of
Prosecutorial Misconduct. As CPI spokesperson Sheryl Hutter tells it, “Over
the last decade, the American public has become disturbed about prosecutors
who ignore ethical standards in a head-long rush to convict.”
“This new Registry,” states Mark Godsey, the Director of the Rosenthal
Institute for Justice/Ohio Innocence Project, “is a significant step forward in
building a base of data that can be used by legislators, policy makers, and
advocates in defining and implementing necessary changes to the laws and
rules that govern prosecutorial behavior.”
[email protected].
PROSECUTORIAL CONDUCT CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Editors
Jennifer Nimmons Herman
Attorney Advisor
▬
Kimberly Campoli
Paralegal/Panel Administrator
Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of PA
Rebecca Blaskey, First Assistant Federal Defender
Kai Scott, Chief, Trial Unit
Nina Carpiniello Spizer, Assistant Chief Trial Unit
Brett Sweitzer, Chief of Appeals
DECEMBER 2013
PAGE 2
Prosecutorial Conduct continued from page 1
This month, the CPI published a White Paper titled An Epidemic of Prosecutor Misconduct. According to that
report:
Prosecutor misconduct can assume many forms, including:
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Charging a suspect with more offenses than is warranted
Withholding or delaying the release of exculpatory evidence
Deliberately mishandling, mistreating, or destroying evidence
Allowing witnesses they know or should know are not truthful to
testify
Pressuring defense witnesses not to testify
Relying on fraudulent forensic experts
During plea negotiations, overstating the strength of the evidence
Making statements to the media that are designed to arouse public
indignation
Making improper or misleading statements to the jury
Failing to report prosecutor misconduct when it is discovered
The report further provides that:
No one knows the exact extent of prosecutor misconduct. That’s because many
prosecutorial activities take place behind closed doors, rendering any misconduct
difficult to detect. An inkling of the problem comes from the National Registry of
Exonerations, which concluded 43% of wrongful convictions are attributable to
official misconduct.
* * *
The problem can be traced back to the early 1990s when the U.S. Department of
Justice asserted its prosecutors were not bound by the ethical codes of the states in
which cases were prosecuted. The stalemate was not resolved until 1999 when
Congress passed the Federal Prosecutor Ethics Act.
PROSECUTORIAL CONDUCT CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
DECEMBER 2013
PAGE 3
Prosecutorial Conduct continued from page 2
However, requiring prosecutors to adhere to state ethics codes did not
eliminate ethical violations within the Department of Justice:
Jeffrey M. Lindy, Esquire
CJA Panel Representative
Eastern District of PA
Please contact Jeff Lindy
with any CJA issues,
comments, or concerns:
Lindy & Tauber
1800 JFK Boulevard, Suite
1500 Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 575-0702
[email protected]
In 2009 a federal judge set aside the conviction of
former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska. Announcing
his decision, Judge Emmett Sullivan took the
prosecutors involved in the case to the ethical
woodshed: “In nearly 25 years on the bench, I’ve
never seen anything approaching the mishandling
and misconduct that I’ve seen in this case.”
Despite the ethics codes in place and the requirement that
prosecutors abide by those codes, there are few consequences
resulting from prosecutorial conduct:
Nine studies have analyzed the professional
consequences
of
prosecutor
misconduct.
Collectively, these studies examined prosecutorial
misconduct conducted at the both state and national
levels from 1963 – 2013. Of the 3,625 instances of
misconduct identified, these studies reveal that
public sanctions are imposed in only 63 cases - - less
than 2% of the time . . . .
Often these sanctions represented only a proverbial “slap-of-the-wrist.”
* * *
Indeed, when a prosecutor violates ethical percepts,
judges and appellate courts seemingly bend over
backwards to excuse the conduct.
PROSECUTORIAL CONDUCT CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
DECEMBER 2013
PAGE 4
Prosecutorial Conduct continued from page 3
“No more,” is the message to be sent by this new Registry of Prosecutorial Misconduct. The Registry will be a very
powerful mechanism for reminding prosecutors that during the heat of battle, they must resist the urge to resort to
.
using tactics that may conflict with their duty to seek the truth at all times
Parties interested in submitting a case for consideration in the Registry should email case materials to:
[email protected].
To read An Epidemic of Prosecutor Misconduct in its entirety, clink link: http://www.prosecutorintegrity.org/wpcontent/uploads/EpidemicofProsecutorMisconduct.pdf.
Recent Third Circuit and Supreme Court Cases
Christofer Bates, RWA, EDPA
Supreme Court
There were no precedential opinions last month.
Third Circuit
There were no precedential opinions last month.
The Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania wishes
you and those close to you peace, prosperity, and happiness throughout the holidays and new
year.
DECEMBER 2013
DEFENSE LINK
Leigh M. Skipper, Chief Federal Defender
Rebecca Blaskey, First Assistant Federal Defender
Kai Scott, Chief, Trial Unit
Nina Carpiniello Spizer, Assistant Chief, Trial Unit
Brett Sweitzer, Chief of Appeals
Federal Community Defender Office
For the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Suite 540 West – The Curtis Center
601 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone (215) 928-1100
PAGE 4
Contact Kimberly Campoli
if you have a new email
address, office address, or
telephone number, for any
CJA Panel related
questions, or if you wish to
withdraw from the CJA
Panel for the EDPA.
[email protected]
WANT MORE?
VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT HTTP://PAE.FD.ORG AND THE
THIRD CIRCUIT BLOG AT WWW.CIRCUIT3.BLOGSPOT.COM
RECENT THIRD CIRCUIT CONTINUES ON PAGE 11