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UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT AGREES TO HEAR CASE THAT COULD SEVERELY LIMIT PROSECUTORIAL IMMUNITY

By Walin & Klarich

The Supreme Court recently decided that it take up a Los Angeles case to decide whether a chief prosecutor can be held liable for a man's wrongful conviction for murder. The case of Van de Kamp vs. Goldstein will test the reach of the rule, set down by the Court in 1976 that prosecutors are immune from being sued, even when defendants are shown to be innocent. Prosecutors, like judges, must be free to do their jobs without fear of being sued later, the high court said in the case of Imbler v. Patchman (1976) 424 U.S. 409. This rule of "absolute immunity" applies whenever a prosecutor "acts within the scope of his prosecutorial duties," the Court said in Imbler. What is not clear, though, is whether this immunity rule protects supervising prosecutors against suits over alleged management failures in the prosecutor?s office...continue to full post

Full post as published by Southern California Criminal Defense Blog on May 29, 2008 (boomark / email).