Ever watch the TV show Law And Order?
I’ve seen dozens of episodes of the show, though I typically turn it off about halfway through. The first part, where the detectives gather the evidence and find the suspects, is a lot more interesting to me than the second part, where the Executive Assistant DA puts together the case. I’ve seen too many episodes where Jack McCoy (or Ben Stone/Michael Cutter, depending on your era) uses vicious and underhanded tactics to extract confessions from defendants or places witnesses of despicable character, complete with immunity, on to the stand. It speaks to the incredible power the prosecutor has in today’s courtroom, and frankly it frightens me.
But it’s just a TV show, right?
I certainly hope that’s all it is. That these sorts of sledgehammer tactics might be in use by real prosecutors is a chilling thought, to say the least.
Unfortunately there is ample evidence that government prosecutors on all levels are willfully ignoring the law in order to obtain convictions. All it takes is a Google search to find a fistful of prosecutorial misconduct cases. It is not unusual in these instances for prosecutors to hide evidence and testimony unfavorable to their cases and to use public forums to destroy the reputations of their unfortunate victims.
Thankfully Eric Holder, the new Attorney General, has made it clear he will not stand for this sort of prosecutorial delinquency. Holder has moved to dismiss all charges against former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. Gross misconduct on the part of federal prosecutors was cited as the main reason.
Stevens was convicted on seven felony counts in late October, effectively crushing his re-election bid. It is widely believed that the Democrat candidate for the Alaskan Senate seat, Mark Begich, won because of the cloud of doubt placed on the incumbent Stevens. While I am no fan of career Senators (a perversion of the concept of legislative democracy if there ever was one), it is difficult to argue this logic. Stevens had a clear lead in polling, up until his conviction and the subsequent threats of expulsion from the Senate should he manage to retain his seat.
