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Stevens v. DOJ takeout

By Mark Obbie

Mike Scarcella and Joe Palazzolo have this standout story on the Ted Stevens prosecution mess in this week's Legal Times. It excels at three things in particular:

• Explaining the case's meltdown at a level of detail I haven't seen in other reports. But it's also a narrative (and I'm a sucker for those). It's a good read!
• Asking how the fallout from the Justice Department's errors may affect prosecutorial misconduct in general. It's speculative, of course, but the Stevens case promises to be the poster child in future discussions of accountability for prosecutors who don't play fair.
• Naming names. Too many of the stories about misconduct and mistakes in this case have treated DOJ as a nameless behemoth. This story calls out the many veteran prosecutors who now are answering for their alleged sins.

Now what we need is a story that examines what facts remain indisputable concerning Stevens' conduct. How much of this outcome is true vindication of his behavior, and how much is simply punishment for the other side's errors? That will take some hardcore reporting on the trial record, sorting out what remains as fact.

Full post as published by Lawbeat on April 06, 2009 (boomark / email).