* Why is so little done when a prosecutor is found to be abusing his office? It is because of Absolute prosecutorial immunity which is a legal doctrine established by federal statute. It provides a prosecuting attorney with immunity from lawsuits or criminal charges for his acts, whether or not they constitute intentional misconduct. The intent of this statute was to protect prosecutors from retaliatory or frivolous actions that could cripple their ability to do their jobs. Nifong’s conduct revealed…
When it comes to terms of conducting investigations, law enforcement officers were permitted to manipulate and use unjustified tactics to question the suspects. These measures have a strong tendency to eventually forced defendants into admitting a crime, whether the defendant is guilty or not. Moreover, in some scenarios, the prosecutors would even went as far as convicting defendants based on flimsy evidence and purposely overlook the solid proofs that can demonstrate defendants’ innocence. These dishonest prosecutors abandoned their responsibilities to obtain justice and to serve as the lawful agent for the people; instead, they deliberately violate the moral principles of their duties and the rights of the defendants to secure convictions. The usual forms of prosecutorial misconduct include but not restricted to: “coercing false confessions”, “lying or intentionally misleading jurors about their observations”, “failing to turn over exculpatory evidence to prosecutors”, “pressuring defense witnesses not to testify” and etc.…
Ethnocentrism is a concept that is referred to a lot in “Society Explained” by Nathan Rousseau. The author describes ethnocentrism as when we think that what we know and are used to is better or more right than something new that is put in front of us. This concept can be applied to many life events. For example ethnocentrism can be applied to my life when talking about college and picking which school I wanted to go to.…
It is somewhat an oxymoron to consider yourself a prosecutor and a good person. Paul Butler writes describing the discrepancies with progressive prosecutors who believes they are able to change the “definition” of a prosecutor. Butler defines a prosecutor as someone one who is “more part of the problem than the solution” and a person who is “geared toward punishing people whose lives are already messed up.” Furthermore, Butler qualifies his definition of a prosecutor by saying the job of some prosecutors is to “mitigate the harshness of the system.” This is a failed attempt to mend the system because their principal work applies the criminal laws instead of ameliorating its negative effects.…
The ethical dilemma in this scenario stems from the Prosecutor in the DA Office's attempt to manipulate the court and jury using deceptive tactics. Specifically, he presented a bloody shirt to the jury, suggesting that the defendant was guilty if it contained the victim's blood. However, crucial information was omitted: the blood on the shirt was not human, and the shirt was not worn on the day of the incident. Furthermore, the prosecutor's failure to apologize for causing another prosecutor to be late for court compounds the ethical concerns. Regarding your response to this dilemma, you have two courses of action: You may report the prosecutor's misconduct and inform the court about the misleading information presented.…
This is a variance from the general rule that places the burden of production and persuasion on the government. For affirmative defenses, defendants bear the burden of production, that is, they must assert the defense at the time required by law. Failure to raise an affirmative defense in a timely manner acts as a waiver of the defense. States vary about the burden of persuasion placed on the defendant. Some require the defendant to prove the defense; others shift the burden to the prosecution to disprove the defense (Schmalleger, Hall, Dolatowski,…
The poverty rate in Memphis is an issue which emanates passion on the inside of my soul. It is evident how poverty influences Memphis in a plethora of ways. Poverty creates a ripple effect which trickles over into the crime rate, education levels and the overall quality of life in the city. There is a sect in the city where poverty has become the norm. Generation after generation the expectation is to remain in the same predicament as their predecessors.…
Criminal justice can be a difficult career to keep ethics involved; especially when ethical behavior is supposed to be the root of the organization. This profession has the ability to change the life of the accused as well at their family’s life. This responsibility should not be taken lightly. Some employees take this responsibility more seriously than others; even still, most of these employees are human. Police dogs are not humans, but they are trained by humans to follow orders. So even though police dogs generally have an unselfish and bias instinct, their handler’s feelings will persuade how they respond to certain people.…
Lord Acton wrote 126 years ago, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Prosecutorial misconduct is one of the leading causes, or contributing causes, of wrongful convictions. (Joy, 2006, p. 399). In the PBS video “Prosecutorial Misconduct” Brendan Sullivan, Senator Ted Stevens’ attorney states that “When prosecutors get into the heat of battle, something takes over the competitive spirit—their reputational implications—and they want to win at all costs. They then begin to think if I lose this case it will be very bad for me professionally because I’ll be known as the lawyer, the prosecutor, who lost a case that may be very visible. It seems, that eagerness to win, can tempt a prosecutor to deliberately present false testimony in their mission to convict criminals.” Whatever the motivation or reason as to why a prosecutor chooses to ignore their legal and ethical obligations to gain a conviction, does not matter. It is wrong. Especially, if it results in an innocent person going to prison and the actual criminal remains free to commit future crimes. An investigative report by USA Today identified more than 200 cases thrown out by judges as a result of misconduct or ethical violations, but only one of those offending prosecutors was…
Prosecutorial Discretion is the prosecuting attorney having complete authority on the turnout of a case. The prosecuting attorney has discretionary power over matters that involve "whether or not to bring criminal charges, deciding the nature of the charges, plea bargaining, and sentence recommendation" (U.S. Legal Inc, 2016, p. 1). Prosecutors are not obligated to take a victims accusations and represent it in front of a jury. However, the prosecutor is obligated to listen to the story, analyze the evidence, and then decide if they want to move ahead with the case (Bazelon, 2006, p. 2). The discretion comes into action when the prosecutor has analyzed the evidence and learns whether or not the case can be won with the evidence provided.…
A good society is one in which people can freely enter into social contracts for mutual benefits. Different social groups have different values, but rational people will agree on two points. In case of Heinz, Heinz should not have stolen the drug as it is breaking the law, but at the same time, the druggist should have charged a reasonable profit on his drug which might not have been against the law but is against moral principles. Moral rights must be protected just like the wife’s right to live. The husband must save the life of his wife. His wife’s life being in danger surpasses every standard one might use to judge the action of the husband. Life is of more value than…
A prosecutor has limited constraints when bringing charges against someone. A prosecutor cannot bring charges vindictively against a person because a defendant successfully appealed a conviction. In the presence of probable cause the prosecutor is not permitted to bring charges for such improper reasons. It would be inappropriate for a prosecutor to bring charges against someone is if he or she knew that the evidence was tampered with, like improper behavior of a cop. If the attorney knew that the evidence given was under false pretense or had been fabricated, filing charges would be inappropriate. Another case would be if the lawyer trust that there is insufficient evidence to convict or if the case is not sufficiently strong to warrant an indictment. A prosecutor choosing that…
The innocence project and forensic science are two forms that can help determine who the actual preparatory was and can help people who have been wrongly convicted in a crime he/she did not commit. In many cases the forensic such as DNA, blood sample, or semen and other evidence that have been lost or even wrongly tested can end up becoming a big mistake that can send someone to jail that did not commit the crime. In the article, Forensic Problems and Wrongfully Convictions (2009) states that, the most wrongful convictions involve more than one contributing cases, for example, if an eyewitness may have wrongly identified an innocent person, and in the same case a forensic analyst may have testified that hairs from the crime scene match the defendant’s hair. In the jury’s eyes, the eyewitness testimony is strengthened by the forensic evidence (Forensic Problems and Wrongfully Convictions, 2009). Not always the eye witnesses are right with what they say so having the right forensic evidence can help with determine who is actually the perpetrator. Such as this case were the eyewitness was not so good and also a lot of the evidence was miss communicated.…
Fred is drunk and driving his dad’s car. Fred is a 21 year old student at Columbia College. Fred rams into a parked car at 10th and Rogers. Thinking no one saw him; Fred moves his car and parks it on an adjacent lot. He sprints to his dorm room in Miller Hall. A neighbor saw the wreck and Fred running to the dorm. Police are called and they arrive ten minutes after the wreck. The officers see several empty beer cans and a bottle of tequila (half full) in the front seat. The tags are traced to Fred’s dad, who is called by police. Dad says that Fred is a student at Columbia College. Police run Fred's record and determine that he has two prior DWIs within the past five years. The third DWI in 10 years is a felony. Police contact Columbia College security who leads them to Fred’s dorm. Fred is passed out, so security lets them in. The officers smell intoxicants, give Fred some Field Sobriety tests (he fails) and confirm that he was driving the car. Fred is arrested for DWI. It is his third offense, a felony under Missouri law. Fred is given a breath test, which registers at .13 on the scale. During the processing of his arrest paperwork, the officers search Fred’s possessions which he brought to the station, and a small quantity of cocaine is found in Fred’s pocket. Fred is charged with DWI, leaving the scene, and possession of cocaine. What issues do you see? How should they be resolved? (50 points)…
There are several reasons for wrongful convictions. Half of the wrongful convictions can be blamed on police misconduct and other wrongful convictions included false statements and mistaken identity. Wrongful convictions could and should be prevented. One of the most common forms of police misconduct is use of force. We can reduce and eliminate wrongful convictions by punishing police and witnesses who conduct illegal activity and lie on the stand under oath.…