New study claims prosecutorial misconduct is rampant in California.

A Report on Prosecutorial Misconduct in California: 1997-2009, identified more than 4,000 federal and state criminal cases on appeal in California during the 13-year span in which prosecutorial misconduct was an issue raised by the defense. The report found:

• 707 cases in which courts determined that prosecutors had committed misconduct, such as making improper statements to the jury in closing arguments, improperly coaching witnesses, or failing to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense.

• 159 cases in which courts found that the level of misconduct was harmful enough to reverse the conviction, declare a mistrial or bar the evidence.

• 67 prosecutors had been found by courts to have committed misconduct more than once, while three prosecutors did it in four cases and two did so in five different cases.

In 282 cases, the court refrained from making a ruling on the prosecutorial misconduct issue, holding instead that any error would have been harmless or that the issue was waived.

The study also found that the State Bar of California took disciplinary action in only six misconduct cases. Three of the six prosecutors were suspended from the practice of law, while two were publicly reprimanded and one was placed on probation.

“Plain and simple, California has a legal system that does not hold prosecutors accountable when they abuse the public trust,” says study co-author Kathleen Ridolfi, a Santa Clara law professor and director of the Northern California Innocence Project. “We have serious problems with prosecutorial misconduct in California and it is not being addressed. These cases are just the tip of the iceberg.”


Link:
http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/harmless_error_new_study_claims_prosecutorial_misconduct_rampant/