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It is a cardinal rule of ethics in the legal profession that the duty of a prosecutor is not to seek convictions, but to pursue justice — even if that pursuit leads to a dismissal or acquittal of charges.  Sadly, that is less and less true in today’s world of winning at any cost….as the following news story illustrates:

19th Judicial District Attorney Offers Cash for Convictions



Arapahoe County, CO. – The 18th Judicial District Attorney, Carol Chambers, is giving bonuses to her deputy attorneys who tried more than five cases last year and have a conviction rate higher than 70 percent, 9Wants to Know has learned.

Critics say it’s unethical to give prosecutors a financial prize for winning a trial and may give defense attorneys a reason to appeal a case.

"The prosecutor’s ethical obligation is to seek justice for everyone," Colorado State Public Defender Douglas Wilson said. "Basing bonus pay of conviction rates flies in the face of that obligation and sounds a lot like the Old West bounties."…

The DAs for both of the metro area’s biggest districts believe paying for performance could leave the prosecutor interested in the outcome of the case.

"Our job is not to directly tie the conviction rate, trials or plea bargains to a monetary figure," First Judicial District Attorney Scott Storey said. "That would be like working on commission or something. And that’s not what we do."

The American Bar Association standards say a prosecutor’s duty is to seek justice, not conviction.

"What matters is that you go in there and you seek justice. And you do the best job you can and then you leave it up to 12 citizens to make a decision," Morrissey said.

How would you like to be accused of a crime…and know that the prosecuting agency has a bounty on your head — guilty or not?

 

DUI BLOG

The latest in the continuing saga of the Houston grand jury’s probe of the D.A.’s cover-up of defective Breathalyzers…

Prosecutors, Court Reporters Face Contempt Charges in Grand Jury Probe

Houston, TX.  Nov. 1 – Two Harris County prosecutors are facing contempt charges after a judge learned members of the DA’s office were given information that may contain official transcripts from secret proceedings of a grand jury that is investigating the district attorney’s office, court records show.

Assistant district attorneys Carl Hobbs and Steve Morris, along with court reporters Javier Leal and Katherine Chagaris, have been summoned to appear before Judge Susan Brown’s court at 9 a.m. Monday.

According to a motion requiring the four to attend the hearing, the prosecutors and court reporters must show why they should not be held in contempt and sanctioned by the court for violating orders issued by Brown.

"It is now come to this court’s attention that members of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office may be in possession of official transcripts of testimony from witnesses who appeared before the grand jury," according to a motion issued by Brown and obtained by the Houston Chronicle Tuesday.

Hobbs and Morris, both senior prosecutors with the DA’s office, are two of three prosecutors who were excluded on Oct. 18 from listening to witness testimony by the grand jury, which also appears to be investigating the Houston Police Department troubled mobile breath alcohol testing vans. That day, when defense attorney Brent Mayr, a critic of the vans, was called to testify, the grand jury ejected the two along with the general counsel for the DA’s office, John Barnhill, and threatened to have the bailiff arrest them if they did not leave, according to court records.

Brown revealed last Wednesday that a Harris County grand jury is investigating possible criminal conduct by the district attorney’s office and disqualified the office from participating in the ongoing investigation into the testing vans.

The judge made the disclosure in an order granting the grand jury’s request for a temporary special prosecutor. She appointed attorneys Stephen C. St. Martin and James Mount to assist the panel. Both are former veteran assistant district attorneys.

Grand jury proceedings are secret, but suspicions by defense attorneys involved in the case and court records have indicated that the panel’s investigation centered on issues surrounding the breath alcohol-testing vehicles – known as BAT vans – and possibly the DA’s office’s involvement.

If the prosecutors or court reporters are found guilty of the misdemeanor contempt charges they could face up to a 0 fine and up to six months in jail.

"Possible criminal conduct by the district attorney’s office"?  If only some prosecutors worked as hard at finding the truth as they do at hiding it… 

(Thanks to Ari Weiner.)
 

DUI BLOG

For nearly 7 years I’ve been blogging about the inaccuracy and unreliability of breath-alcohol testing machines.  See, for example, How Breathalyzers Work (and Why They Don’t), Why Breathalyzers Don’t Measure Alcohol and Report: Breathalyzers Outdated, Unstable, Unreliable.  

So if they’re so inaccurate, how can prosecutors convince juries to convict based upon these machines?  Well, usually they don’t have to: the law in most states requires the judge to instruct the jury that the machines are presumed to be accurate!  See DUI and the Presumption of Guilt. 

And if that presumption might be rebutted by damning facts to the contrary, well….

DC Prosecutor Under Investigation for Unethical Behavior in Prosecution of Drunk Driving Cases

Wash, DC.  May 10 – FOX 5 has learned at least one prosecutor in the D.C. Office of the Attorney General is under investigation. The Office of Bar Council is looking into claims of unethical behavior in the prosecution of drunk driving cases.

As many as a half a dozen police officers and defense attorneys have been interviewed so far.

No one would talk about the investigation on the record Tuesday. In fact, the Office of Bar Council, which is the city agency that investigates attorneys, wouldn’t even confirm an investigation.

But sources familiar with the probe say at least one prosecutor is under investigation for allegedly asking police officers to lie under oath on the stand.

But it goes deeper than that.

In the last several months, three D.C. Police officers, the Fraternal Order of Police along with three defense attorneys, have publicly questioned the behavior of prosecutors in the D.C. Office of the Attorney General.

Officers Ben Fetting, Andrew Zabavsky and Jose Rodriguez even took their stories to the D.C. City Council.

Back in February, an affidavit was prepared by the FOP and sent to the Inspector General in a request for an investigation.  It reads in part:  

“Both Officer (Jose) Rodriguez and (Andrew) Zabavsky were advised by the (Office of the Attorney General) to limit their testimony at DUI trials with regards to the problems with the Intoxilyzers.

“They were told not to answer questions about when they became aware of the problems with the equipment and told to say that they were not familiar with the problems or investigations even if they did know the answer. Both officers indicated they were unwilling to alter their testimony or perjure themselves.”

Additionally, according to the union:

“On September 27, 2010, Officer (Ben) Fetting was scheduled to testify in a DUI trial … Attorney Tamara Barnett of the (Office of the Attorney General) suggested that Officer Fetting not answer certain questions about the certification of the Intoximeters. Officer Fetting declined and when questioned … answered truthfully that he was aware that the Intoximeters had not been approved by the (Office of the Chief Medical Examiner).”…

Sources familiar with the probe say the Office of Bar Council is also looking into allegations prosecutors used scores from an uncertified breathalyzer in order to obtain guilty pleas in drunk driving cases…

The misconduct allegations began to surface after city officials revealed a little over a year ago the breathalyzers used by D.C. Police were not properly calibrated, calling into question thousands of convictions.

FOX 5 contacted the Office of the Attorney General Tuesday, but an official at the office declined to comment.
 

 Whatever it takes to win…

(Thanks to attorney Matthew S. Kensky of Fairfax, Virginia.)
 

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