NEW BOOK: Eradicating American "Prosecutor Misconduct"

 

Just published is Eradicating American Prosecutor Misconduct”: A Handbook for Prosecutors, Criminal Defense Attorneys and Others Interested in Criminal Justice. This short yet comprehensive Handbook is designed for both prosecutors and defense counsel alike. Its modest goal is to eradicate what is called “prosecutor misconduct”. While this Handbook may serve as a guidebook for prosecutors, it also arms defense counsel with information that can be used to ensure that their clients receive a fair trial. 

An example of how the Handbook simultaneously guides prosecutors and arms defense counsel is that it spells out what a prosecutor is prohibited by law and ethical rules from saying in trial. By identifying what a prosecutor is not permitted to say in trial, it not only tells prosecutors what not to do but also provides defense counsel with grounds and legal authority for either an objection, a motion for mistrial, or an appeal if the trial judge overrules the objection or denies the motion. 

This Handbook is also intended for anyone who wants to understand the real roles and functions of the American prosecutor.  There is a wide-spread public misunderstanding (even among lawyers, law professors, and law students) of the prosecutor’s roles and functions.  These misconceptions are to a significant degree caused by movies, television shows, and books that cast prosecutors as antagonists in their narratives. 

Eradicating American "Prosecutor Misconduct" traces the unique character of the American prosecutor from its origins to today because only by understanding that history can the roles and functions of a modern prosecutor be fully appreciated.  

This Handbook is an outgrowth of Continuing Legal Education presentations on prosecutor professionalism that I delivered across the nation. It offers engaging and educational examples of prosecutor error along with the words from a cross-section of state and federal appellate courts describing both what and why certain prosecutorial conduct is prohibited. In sum, it offers learn-by-example lessons of what a prosecutor should not do in pretrial and trial.