Miscellaneous
Prosecutorial misconduct continues to be widespread in the courts across the country. As a report from a decade ago discovered – with over 800 instances of documented prosecutorial misconduct, much of it serious with grave effects, courts, district attorneys, and bar associations “rarely hold prosecutors accountable for their misconduct. In fact, the whole system incentivizes misconduct by using “court wins” to measure prosecutorial success.” Accountability NY is a non-profit coalition of law professors and public interest groups seeking consequences for prosecutorial misconduct. Overview of the project: • The power prosecutors have in the criminal justice system and how their misconduct frequently goes unnoticed • How harmful their misconduct is to individuals, families, communities, and to the legal system itself • Why grievances were the way Accountability NY approached this issue (Currently the only avenue for accountability in New York) • What this means nationally. This is a nationwide issue plus it is happening at a time when there is a national movement for police accountability -- police accountability and prosecutorial accountability go hand in hand. Everyday injustice speaks with Steve Zeidman, Professor, Director of the Criminal Defense Clinic, has spent the last 25 years working in the area of criminal defense.