The Constitution contains protections or rights regulating the government’s ability to intrude on a citizen’s life and liberty. Prosecutors control virtually every step of an individual’s journey through the criminal legal system. Their power comes with a responsibility to ensure individuals receive fair and equal application of the law.
Prosecutors routinely violate the constitutional rights of defendants. Pervasive racism and bias infects the criminal legal system and results in the violation of constitutional rights of Blacks, other people of color, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQ individuals. Existing institutional structures – the courts, state bar disciplinary panels – have not prevented or redressed violations of constitutional rights by prosecutors.
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What’s At Stake
The right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure of our persons and property, the right to counsel, the right to notice and review of exculpatory evidence, the right to a speedy trial, and the right to a jury of our peers – untainted by racial bias in the selection process … are all guaranteed by the US Constitution. As a constitutional democracy, it is vitally important that prosecutors uphold all our constitutional rights in each and every case.
What Needs to Change
Prosecutor offices must have robust policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the Constitution. Prosecutors must decline to use unconstitutionally acquired evidence. They must ensure that the right to counsel is protected at every stage of the criminal legal process and notify the defense of all decision-making opportunities in time to adequately prepare and participate. Prosecutors’ office policy should set clear time limits for every stage of adjudication, with shorter time frames for defendants held in custody. Chief prosecutors must have a zero-tolerance policy for line prosecutors excluding jurors due to their race and must gather and analyze selection statistics and must remedy any selection biases.
The Supreme Court, since its ruling in Brady v. Maryland, has repeatedly found that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause demands that prosecutors disclose to the defense any information favorable to the accused. Prosecutors routinely fail to turn over exculpatory evidence to the defense or wait until the defense is unable to use the information effectively. To ensure compliance with Brady, district attorneys must adopt policies to automatically disclose potentially useful information to the defense.
LDF demands that District Attorneys implement robust policies to ensure Constitutional compliance. Office-wide policies must be created to: prohibit subordinates from violating constitutional principles; reprimand those who commit these violations; and implement mechanisms leading to the discovery of such misconduct.
How You Can Help
Demand that your local district attorney pledge to adopt and enforce policies to ensure Constitutional compliance by their offices.
