Vertical on Designated Cases: The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office (Los Angeles) and the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office (Memphis) vertically prosecute certain categories of cases, such as homicides, sex crimes, child …
Feb 09, 2020 · All three of these District Attorneys have thrown down with criminals, in some cases refusing to prosecute so-called “minor” crimes such as shoplifting and low-level drug offenses. And all three have drawn outrage from law enforcement authorities, as well as crime victims for their soft-on-crime approach to criminal justice.
Apr 06, 2004 · A public defender may also be suspended without pay. For a suspension of less than 15 days, the chief public defender may suspend a subordinate public defender for cause. The suspended public defender may request review by the commission. Imposition of a suspension of more than 15 days requires due notice and a hearing by the commission (CGS ...
attorney excluded from the courtroom, and, over defense counsel’s objection, excluded him from part of the hearing. In defense counsel’s absence, Judge Connolly called his court reporter as a witness and permitted the deputy district attorney to call two witnesses. The judge also provided the district attorney’s office, but not defense
After remanding a defendant whom the judge believed was self-represented, the judge refused to recall the matter later that day at the request of the defendant’s counsel. [Com. on Jud. Performance, Ann. Rept. (2019), Advisory Letter 13, p. 36.]
Judge Shaw was disciplined for mistreatment of participants in multiple criminal cases; in four of the cases, Judge Shaw mistreated defense counsel and sometimes, their clients. In one case, the Court of Appeal reversed the conviction and held that the defendant was entitled to a retrial before a different judge, partly due to Judge Shaw’s “persistent and indefensible misconduct.” Judge Shaw engaged in “elementary school scolding of defense counsel” that was unwarranted and a “demeaning lecture” of defense counsel over a hearsay issue that was “wholly uncalled for.” The appellate court noted: “It was enough to sustain the objection. Making fun of a lawyer in front of the jury is unacceptable, particularly where, as here, the lawyer is doing her best to represent her client and, while perhaps making mistakes from time to time, is not demonstrating disrespect of the court.” The court concluded that Judge Shaw “belittled, scolded and punished” defense counsel in front of the jury, made “caustic, condescending remarks” to the defendant and his counsel, created an “atmosphere of unfairness” and “[s]ubstantively undermined the defense theory of the case.” The commission determined that Judge Shaw became embroiled in the case and lacked patience, dignity and courtesy and engaged in prejudicial misconduct. [Censure and Bar of Former Judge Susanne S. Shaw (2006).]
Judge Broadman was censured for conduct including getting a time waiver from counsel while concealing the reason for requesting the waiver. When a defendant appeared before Judge Broadman for sentencing, the judge asked for a time waiver in order for the court to present some questions to counsel to research before sentence was imposed. Both the prosecutor and defense counsel agreed to postpone the sentencing hearing. When defense counsel expressed concern about the delay and inquired as to the need for two months of research, the judge replied: “Trust me.” Only after obtaining a time waiver from both defense counsel and the defendant did Judge Broadman reveal that he wanted the attorneys to research whether the judge could order prison authorities to withhold from an HIV-positive inmate, such as the defendant, any medical treatment for that condition. Defense counsel then strenuously objected and objected to the waiver as not knowing as defense counsel did not know the reason for it. The Supreme Court found that Judge Broadman had “tricked” counsel into agreeing to the continuance. A judge’s attempt to take an attorney unawares by concealing material information is an abuse of the judicial process and willful misconduct. [Broadman v. Commission on Judicial Performance (1998) 18 Cal.4th 1079.]
Judge Kreep made comments to a deputy public defender about her accent, whether she had Mexican citizenship, and stated, “I wasn’t planning on having you deported.” [Inquiry Concerning Judge Gary G. Kreep (2017) 3 Cal.5th CJP Supp. 1]
On June 29, 2011, Judge Jacobson presided over a calendar in a felony trial department. During an arraignment on calendar that day, Judge Jacobson spoke sharply to a deputy public defender who was new to the felony trial department. After the hearing, Judge Jacobson asked to speak to the DPD. The DPD then approached and put her hand on the bench. After apologizing for speaking sharply to her during the arraignment, Judge Jacobson “hit her hand, and inadvertently used enough force to leave a visible impression.”
In numerous cases over which he presided, Judge Mason failed to make disclosures on the record about his close personal relationship with an attorney who appeared as counsel of record. Judge Mason had a “personal and sustained” relationship with the attorney that included “ongoing social interactions” after Judge Mason took the bench. In 2017 alone, that attorney appeared before Judge Mason in more than 80 different cases. Although Judge Mason originally represented to the commission that he made disclosures “in every case where ethics and fairness made it necessary,” Judge Mason later conceded that he “may have overstated his diligence regarding disclosing specific information concerning his relationship with [the attorney], on the record, in every matter.”
A conflict of interest exists when a district attorney or member of his or her staff previously represented the defendant with regard to the charges to be prosecuted and, as a result of that former attorney-client relationship, the prosecution obtained information that may be used to the defendant’s detriment at trial.
North Carolina is divided into 44 prosecutorial districts. Each is headed by an elected district attorney or, the case of a mid-term vacancy, a district attorney appointed by the governor. District attorneys are constitutionally and statutorily charged with prosecuting criminal actions in their districts. Each district attorney employs ...