Prosecutorial error and best practices

It’s never too early to plan for interesting upcoming events. So, you ought to set-aside 12-13 June 2015, especially if you will be in the Arlington, VA area on those days.

The Center for Prosecutorial Integrity will have its Second Innocence Summit.

Proceedings will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Washington National Airport, 1480 Crystal City Drive, Arlington, VA 22202.

I have referred to or commented on the CPI work from time to time, in particular their findings that failure to provide Brady material prior to trial is a leading reason for wrongful convictions. They report:

Fact #4: Many different types of ethical violations have been reported. The following are the most common types of ethical violations committed by prosecutors:

• Failure to disclose exculpatory evidence (Brady violation)
• Use of inadmissible or false evidence/lack of candor to the court
• Plea bargain offense
• Inflammatory statements/witness harassment
• Mischaracterizing the evidence
• Vouching

Center for Prosecutor Integrity. Registry of Prosecutorial Misconduct.http://www.prosecutorintegrity.org/registry/graph/numberbymisconducttype/

Registration will begin in February, and the actual schedule is yet to be announced. So check back here or at their website for further details. Or you can sign up for their regular email updates. They do appear to have blocked off rooms at the hotel at deeply discounted room rates.

In response to the issue of prosecutorial error, a number of jurisdictions have established Prosecutorial Integrity Units. Dare the TJAGs establish this as they did the SVC program?