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Prosecutors seldom disciplined for misconduct; can they be held liable in civil court?

Before heading out (a little late) this a.m. to the Texas Forensic Science Seminar at the capitol, I wanted to point readers to the transcript from oral arguments (pdf) at the US Supreme Court in a Louisiana case (Connick v. Thompson) which will determine whether prosecutors can be held liable in Sec. 1983 civil rights lawsuits for failing to turn over exculpatory evidence to the defense. This story from Law.com says the justices appear ready to allow the case to go forward. And here's an excellent soup to nuts account of the case from Slate written before oral arguments were held. (I may have more to say about the case after I've had a chance to thoroughly read the transcript.)Relatedly a new report (pdf) on prosecutorial misconduct from a group called the Veritas Initiative came out this week analyzing hundreds of cases where courts found prosecutorial misconduct...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on October 07, 2010 (boomark / email).