From Robert Jackson: The Federal Prosecutor

This essay was flagged in the previous post.

Jackson was an attorney general under FDR, and later a justice on the Supreme Court.

Here he ruminates on the role of the prosecutor. a potentially dangerous force if malicious - and political.

- Click here for the address.

Prosecutor Accountabilty Bill passes Senate unanimously

The Bill is SB 825 and was introduced by John Whitmire. It is one of many such bills introduced this session following the Michael Morton case we discussed earlier this semester.

From the Texas Tribune:

It would extend the statute of limitations for offenses involving the suppression of evidence by prosecutors. Under current law, the four-year statute of limitations begins on these offenses when they occur, but Whitmire's proposal would begin the four years when a wrongfully convicted defendant is released from prison. It would also require the State Bar of Texas to issue a public reprimand for prosecutors who suppress evidence that they should have given to defense attorneys.

A public reprimand hardly seems sufficient. The bill now proceeds to the House.

Other bills aimed at decreasing wrongful convictions being considered by lawmakers include SB 1611, by state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and HB 1426, by state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, both of which would codify the requirement that prosecutors share certain information with defense attorneys before a trial begins that could bolster a defendant's claims of innocence. Both bills are set to be discussed Tuesday by legislative committees.

Federalism and the Loughner Indictments

Today's NYT has information about additional federal charges against Tucson shooter Jared Loughner. The story touches on controversies regarding which level of government has jurisdiction over which offenses he violated. As we know from 2301s discussion of federalism, nothing he did violates a law that the federal government has a delegated power over. The Constitution does state that the federal government can pass any law within federal lands, but Tucson is not in federal land. What's novel about these indictments is that prosecutors are claiming that Loughner can be prosecuted for killing constituents waiting to see their member of Congress.

Laws have been passed federalizing the murder of federal officials (see here for example) many driven after Kennedy's assassination when it turned out the federal government had no jurisdiction over the crime (murder - falls under the reserved powers).

From the Story:

Prosecutors filed 49 federal charges Friday against Jared L. Loughner, the suspect in the Tucson shooting rampage, accusing him of murdering and attempting to murder five federal officials; killing four constituents of Representative Gabrielle Giffords who were attending a public event she sponsored; and injuring 10 others waiting in line to talk to her.

“You have a right to meet with your member of Congress openly and freely and peacefully,” said Dennis K. Burke, the United States attorney for Arizona, indicating he was confident that the novel legal theory the prosecutors were using — including charges involving victims who were not federal officials but merely attending a “federally provided activity” — would be upheld in court.

Outside legal experts, however, said the charges would give an opening for Mr. Loughner’s defense team, led by Judy Clarke, to challenge their validity.

The raft of new charges, some of which could carry the death penalty, go far beyond the previous indictment against Mr. Loughner, a troubled 22-year-old who is accused of opening fire outside a Tucson-area supermarket on Jan. 8 with a Glock semiautomatic pistol in an effort to kill Ms. Giffords.  
Background
- Why is there a separate federal statute for attempted murder of a member of Congress?

- Wikipedia: Federal Crime in the United States.
- Wikipedia: Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act.

Bad Jurors

From Texas Watchdog:

A list of bad jurors kept by prosecutors is not a public record, according to the state attorney general's office, a ruling that “flies in the face of open government,” according to Fort Worth Defense lawyer William Ray in the Star-Telegram.

Ray sought a list the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office keeps of jurors who have previously served and notes on why they would be unfit to serve again. Presumably, these jurors did not deliver a verdict favorable to the state.
Is this an encroachment by the executive on the independence of the judiciary?

For further reading: Juror Intimidation in Russia.

Equal Protection and the District Attorney

While we cover civil rights in 2301 over the next two weeks, we should touch on recent cases involving the prosecution of--or attempts to prosecute--individuals that may have been fueled by racial anymosity.

The first fits the pattern we have grown to expect. 14 year old Shaquanda Cotton pushed a hall monitor in school and received an indeterminate sentence in a juvenile facility. The case drew national attention because she's African-American, white children had been given lesser sentences for greater crimes, her mother was an outspoken activist in the community, and Paris, Texas has a nasty racial history that includes public lynchings. Her prosecution was held by some to be intimidation by the white legal system of the African-American population.

The second does not fit this pattern. It's the accusation of rape against members of the Duke lacrosse team that was recently dropped by the district attorney, who has also since apologized. Critics of the district attorney argued that he drove the case forward in order to get the votes of the black community in Durham. Commentators have also pointed out how easy it was for the prosecution and the media to persuade the public that these people were guilty. Classic stereotypes of privileged rich kids out of control were readilty accepted. Was this reverse racism?

I posted below about the efforts of an interested bystander (Robert Johnson) to uncover the truth behind the Duke case by persistently posting blogs about it. Not surprisingly, the same thing occurred in the Shaquanda Cotton case. Here's the blog.

The web is turning out to be an effective instrument in allowing criminal defendants and their supporters to state their case.