[DOWNLOAD] "Prosecutorial Ethics: The Duty to Disclose Exculpatory Material." by Journal of the National District Attorneys Association Prosecutor * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Prosecutorial Ethics: The Duty to Disclose Exculpatory Material.
- Author : Journal of the National District Attorneys Association Prosecutor
- Release Date : January 01, 2008
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 289 KB
Description
INTRODUCTION THIS IS THE SECOND ARTICLE IN A SERIES that examines the ethical rules and professional standards applicable to prosecutors. The goal is to provide guidance and information as to the more common ethical and professional concerns a prosecutor is faced with in executing his duties. The first article discussed the ethical and professional duties surrounding a prosecutor's charging decision. It did so by examining section (a) of Rule 3.8 of the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility. This article addresses section (d), the duty to disclose exculpatory material, and examines the frequently recurring issues surrounding the overriding duty of the prosecutor to disclose to the defense evidence that "tends to negate the guilt of the accused or mitigates the offense." By skipping sub-sections (b), ensuring certain procedural and constitutional rights of the defendant are protected, and (c), not obtaining waiver of important pre-trial rights from an unrepresented accused, I do not in any way seek to denigrate the importance of those duties. These legal precepts, discussed in subsequent articles, are just as crucial to the conscientious and ethical prosecutor as is his duty to disclose exculpatory material. However, as can be seen from the sheer amount of jurisprudence devoted to the ethical concepts and the legal precepts encompassed in Rule 3.8(d), the prosecutor's duty to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense cuts to the very core of his duty as both an advocate and as a minister of justice.