Excellent reporting on AZ prosecutor misconduct

In Arizona, "Since 1990, six different prosecutors who were named prosecutor of the year by the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys Advisory Committee also were later found by appeals courts to have engaged in misconduct or inappropriate behavior during death-penalty trials," the Arizona Republic found in an extensive investigative series on prosecutor misconduct. The Arizona Supreme Court found prosecutor misconduct in more than one-fifth of all capital cases (18 out of 82) in the state since 2002, reported the paper, though the prosecutors involved were rarely sanctioned. See:

• Prosecutor misconduct alleged in half of capital cases
• Prosecutors under scrutiny are seldom disciplined
• Objections raised to Juan Martinez's conduct in Jodi Arias trial

Anyone interested in the subject should read the whole series: Excellent reporting on a difficult-to-research topic. Tomorrow the paper will publish a story on potential reforms; Grits will add the link to this post when it comes online. UPDATE: Here it is. One recurring theme in the stories was the failure of judges to call out prosecutor misconduct when it happens, which Grits has certainly noticed here in Texas whenever the issue comes up. Here's a notable excerpt from the first story on that score:

On a recent afternoon, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge was talking about prosecutors

She drew a line on the table with her finger and then placed an eating utensil there to mark the line.

“That’s misconduct,” said the judge, who asked that her name not be used.

Judges are loath to comment on cases for ethical reasons — and because they need to remain impartial to the attorneys who come before them.

Then she placed another utensil an inch away and parallel to the first on the table.

“That’s reversible error,” she said, referring to the level of misconduct that can get a sentence or conviction thrown out.

She put her finger in the space between the utensils and said, “That’s where a lot of prosecutors operate.”

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery had a quick counter.

“If courts are not enforcing the Rules of Professional Responsibility as they pertain to the conduct of defense attorneys and prosecutors, they are then responsible for what goes on in court,” he said. “However, mere differences of opinion as to how a case should be tried cannot be the standard either.”

He's got a point: Whether it's because so many judges themselves are former prosecutors or just because of plain old cowardice, the failure of judges to rein in prosecutor misconduct inarguably is the main reason it usually goes unchecked.

In Arizona, "Since 1990, six different prosecutors who were named prosecutor of the year by the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys Advisory Committee also were later found by appeals courts to have engaged in misconduct or inappropriate behavior during death-penalty trials," the Arizona Republic found in an extensive investigative series on prosecutor misconduct. The Arizona Supreme Court found prosecutor misconduct in more than one-fifth of all capital cases (18 out of 82) in the state since 2002, reported the paper, though the prosecutors involved were rarely sanctioned. See:

• Prosecutor misconduct alleged in half of capital cases
• Prosecutors under scrutiny are seldom disciplined
• Objections raised to Juan Martinez's conduct in Jodi Arias trial

Anyone interested in the subject should read the whole series: Excellent reporting on a difficult-to-research topic. Tomorrow the paper will publish a story on potential reforms; Grits will add the link to this post when it comes online. UPDATE: Here it is. One recurring theme in the stories was the failure of judges to call out prosecutor misconduct when it happens, which Grits has certainly noticed here in Texas whenever the issue comes up. Here's a notable excerpt from the first story on that score:

On a recent afternoon, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge was talking about prosecutors

She drew a line on the table with her finger and then placed an eating utensil there to mark the line.

“That’s misconduct,” said the judge, who asked that her name not be used.

Judges are loath to comment on cases for ethical reasons — and because they need to remain impartial to the attorneys who come before them.

Then she placed another utensil an inch away and parallel to the first on the table.

“That’s reversible error,” she said, referring to the level of misconduct that can get a sentence or conviction thrown out.

She put her finger in the space between the utensils and said, “That’s where a lot of prosecutors operate.”

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery had a quick counter.

“If courts are not enforcing the Rules of Professional Responsibility as they pertain to the conduct of defense attorneys and prosecutors, they are then responsible for what goes on in court,” he said. “However, mere differences of opinion as to how a case should be tried cannot be the standard either.”

He's got a point: Whether it's because so many judges themselves are former prosecutors or just because of plain old cowardice, the failure of judges to rein in prosecutor misconduct inarguably is the main reason it usually goes unchecked.