A furious federal judge on Tuesday took the extraordinary step of ordering that the prosecutors who bungled the case of former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska be investigated for possible criminal wrongdoing...
Judge Sullivan spoke disdainfully of the prosecutors’ repeated assertions that any mistakes during the trial were inadvertent and made in good faith. He said he had witnessed “shocking and serious” violations of the principle that prosecutors are obligated to turn over all relevant material to the defense.
The judge appointed the attorney Henry Schuelke as special prosecutor to investigate possible criminal contempt charges against the prosecution team.
Prosecutors commit Brady violations all the time. Even "serious" Brady violations are downright common. (Indeed, all violations of a defendant's constitutional rights ought be seen as "serious.") And yet there are almost never any repercussions. A little deterrence would go a long way.
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