The Washington Post, in an opinion piece by Radley Balko, has now joined the Los Angeles Times and the New York times in calling for a national discussion on the problem of prosecutorial misconduct. It has infected our legal system nationwide, and the Department of Justice, the judges, and our bar associations have done little if anything about it.  It must stop. It is destroying the public’s faith in our system, the rule of law itself, and any possibility of the fair administration of justice, while causing untold harm to countless individual lives.

On Sunday, the New York Times ran an editorial about prosecutorial misconduct. The paper called the problem “rampant,” particularly with respect to what are known as “Brady violations,” or the requirement to disclose favorable evidence to defense counsel. The editorial came on the heels of a well-publicized, blistering opinion by Alex Kozinski, the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, that not only excoriated prosecutors in a case the court was considering, but went on to lambaste prosecutors across the country, and the courts and bar associations that fail to hold them accountable. We appear to now be headed for an overdue, full-blown “national discussion.”

Bring on the discussion and let’s name names, but the most recent Kozinski opinion on the “epidemic of Brady violations” is found here.  Stay tuned and follow us on Facebook where we’ve posted a Judicial Wall of Fame, a Prosecutors’ Wall of Shame, and a Judicial Wall of Shame. Some of the most corrupt prosecutors are now running the country.