Prosecutorial Ethics

Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson once noted, "The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America." This seminar examines the unique role and power of prosecutors and their responsibility to ensure "that guilt shall not escape or innocence suffer." We will study the ways in which prosecutors exercise their broad discretion and the ethical and practical considerations that affect those determinations. What duty does the prosecutor owe to a victim? To the police? To the public at large? How might those parties' interests conflict with a prosecutor's objectives and impact prosecutorial decisions? A major focus of this course will be the prosecutor's obligations to the accused and the various ways in which those duties are breached. We will examine the consequences of prosecutorial misconduct, the ways in which it may or may not be remedied, and to what extent it can be deterred. Other topics to be covered include the relationship between the prosecutor and the grand jury, conflicts of interest, selective prosecution, trial misconduct, prosecutorial immunity, mandatory minimum sentences, the use of confidential informants and cooperating witnesses, discovery of exculpatory evidence, post-conviction obligations, and wrongful convictions. Our study will draw heavily from historical as well as current events, and will include emphasis on the ways in which the role of the prosecutor is shifting. Students will engage in mock disciplinary hearings, playing the role of bar counsel in bringing allegations of misconduct against prosecutors or defending them against such claims. NOTE: seminar satisfies the Professional Responsibility requirement. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may not be used to satisfy the requirement. RECOMMENDED COURSE: Criminal Procedure, taken either prior to or concurrently with this seminar. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.