Posted on December 18, 2013 by Phil Locke
An epidemic of Brady violations – those are not my words. They are the words of Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a recent decision in the case of US vs. Olsen.
If you don’t know what a ‘Brady’ violation is — it’s when the prosecution fails to turn over exculpatory evidence to the defense. The US Supreme Court ruled in the case of Brady vs. Maryland (1963) that suppression of evidence by the prosecution violates the defendant’s due process rights. Note, however, that the ruling does not specify sanctions for prosecutors who fail to comply with Brady disclosure. It only stipulates that the defendant’s due process rights have been violated, thus making a Brady violation potential grounds for post-conviction relief.
Read the Huff Post story about Judge Kozinski’s opinion here.
This quote from judge Kozinski’s opinion: “There is an epidemic of Brady violations abroad in the land. Only judges can put a stop to it.” Kozinski’s statement is interesting, because it is recognizing that there is nothing in the law that punishes (sanctions) prosecutors for this unethical behavior. They are supposedly subject to sanction from their bar association, but guess what – this just about never happens.
Wrongful Convictions Blog 