When a federal appeals court issued a ruling describing a prosecutor’s misconduct that forced a halt to a drug-trafficking trial in Tucson, the U.S. attorney’s response was to ask the court to erase the prosecutor’s name from the published decision.
Bad move. After republishing the name of the errant prosecutor, Jerry Albert, the court pointed a finger at the U.S. attorney’s office and said it was time to start taking responsibility for the misdeeds of its employees.
“When a prosecutor steps over the boundaries of proper conduct and into unethical territory, the government has a duty to own up to it and to give assurances that it will not happen again,†the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Tuesday.
And, concerning all of the U.S. attorney’s legal filings, the court said, “we cannot find a single hint of appreciation of the seriousness of the misconduct. … Instead, the government attempts to shift blame†to the defense lawyer in the case.
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Will anyone be fired or disciplined in any way for hiding the ball?
JAJ48@aol.com
Commie pinko.
Gee, per the below info they might refer the attorney to the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility …. And then? Â (CN) – A federal prosecutor in Arizona may deserve sanctions for misrepresenting a suspected drug smuggler’s previous testimony and forcing a mistrial, but the double jeopardy clause does not foreclose a retrial, the 9th Circuit ruled. Â Â Â Â Â Aurora Lopez-Avila originally pleaded guilty after prosecutors charged her with possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Customs officials had arrested her at the Nogales Port of Entry south of Tucson, Ariz., as she attempted to enter the United States from Mexico… Read more »