Prosecutors at the District Court level have no public accountability and even less punishment by state bars.

The simple fact is that prosecutors hold extraordinary power to ruin people's lives and, inevitably, the least ethical prosecutors will abuse that power, out of laziness, incompetence, ambition, whatever — not because the institution that employs them is corrupt but because inadequate vigilance enables them.

Since lives are ruined one at a time, the acceptable level of prosecutorial abuse is zero. But Justice appears not to see it that way.

Misconduct is certainly not confined to federal prosecutions. If anything, it's more common in state courts, where local prosecutors often have heavier caseloads and less supervision. The most notorious recent example of a runaway prosecutor involved the three Duke University students who were indicted on rape charges in 2006, despite a lack of credible evidence. A savvy defense team and the public spotlight vindicated them, and Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong was disbarred and removed from office.

Compounding the problem of prosecutors whose actions make a mockery of justice is a legal system that tends to coddle them. There's little public accountability and even less punishment by state bars, which have the authority to investigate and sanction the lawyers they license. In some cases, even appellate courts have tried to provide cover by omitting prosecutors' names when citing them for misconduct.


Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2010-10-08-editorial08_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip