Event Summary
The Durham County District Attorney's handling of rape allegations against Duke University lacrosse players has Americans questioning their confidence in the American criminal justice system. On October 10, Brookings hosted a discussion on prosecutorial misconduct, examining its frequency at the state and federal levels, the circumstances under which it is most likely to occur and strategies to minimize its impact.
Judicial Issues Forum
Event Information
When
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
9:00 AM to 10:30:00 AM
Where
Falk Auditorium
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20036
Map
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Benjamin Wittes, fellow and research director in public law at Brookings, moderated the discussion. The panel featured Stuart Taylor, Jr., nonresident senior fellow and co-author with KC Johnson of Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case (Thomas Dunne Books, 2007); James Comey, former U.S. Deputy Attorney General, and Steven Benjamin, a criminal defense lawyer with the law firm Benjamin & DesPortes.
Transcript
PIETRO NIVOLA: Among the many important questions that I hope this panel will take up, one is basically how pervasive is the problem of prosecutorial misconduct, the kind of mess that took place, for instance, at Duke, and what is it like for defendants with lesser means than perhaps the families of the Duke Lacrosse players?
How do the problems of prosecutorial abuse differ between the state and federal levels? I think this kind of question is particularly interesting to political scientists. Is it a good thing or a bad thing to elect district attorneys? Does it make them more accountable or perhaps paradoxically less accountable?
Finally, of course, what could or should be done to rein in runaway prosecutors?
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Participants
Panelists
Steven D. Benjamin
Attorney, Benjamin & DesPortes
James B. Comey
General Counsel and Senior Vice President, Lockheed Martin
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Governance Studies