 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Diprete5/1/1998
rdinary party to a controversy, but of a sovereignty whose obligation to govern impartially is as compelling as its obligation to govern at all; and whose interest, therefore, in a criminal prosecution is not that it shall win a case, but that Justice shall be done. As such, he is in a peculiar and very definite sense the servant of the law, the twofold aim of which is that guilt shall not escape or innocence suffer. He may prosecute with earnestness and vigor--indeed, he should do so. But, while he may strike hard blows, he is not at liberty to strike foul ones. It is as much his duty to refrain from improper methods calculated to produce a wrongful conviction as it is to use every legitimate means to bring about a just one." Id. at 88, 55 S.Ct. at 633, 79 L.Ed. at 1321.
That special duty of a prosecutor is embodied in our Supreme Court Rules of Professional Conduct, Article V, Rule 3.8. Among the special responsibilities of a prosecutor specifically listed in Rule 3.8(d) is that " he prosecutor in a criminal case shall * * * make timely disclosure to the defense of all evidence or information known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt of the accused * * *." In this case the prosecutors utterly failed to abide by that rule of professional conduct.
Accordingly the trial Justice in this case was confronted not only by dire facts of prosecutorial misconduct but also by his own sworn obligation to preserve and protect the integrity and credibility of our justice system and the Superior Court Rules of Criminal Procedure, adopted by this Court to "govern all criminal proceedings in this state." Super.R.Crim.P. 59. He commendably recognized that he had before him in this case a societal concern that transcended the apparent prosecutorial self-interest of the state's prosecutors, and he responded to that concern by properly noting:
" he manner and magnitude of the prosecutorial misconduct * * * in this case has not only resulted in substantial prejudice to the defendants but has the effect of eroding confidence in the criminal justice system. Of equal concern is that the situation also raises the alarming specter that the system works only if an accused has the financial resources to make independent investigation prior to trial to ferret out misconduct to ensure due process. At the very least, the court would be justified in precluding the testimony of the witnesses for the State (Brusini, Zaino, Piccoli, and Santos) but that remedy does not effectively respond to the evidence. It does nothing to impress upon the prosecution that it cannot be allowed to benefit from having acted in a manner that is less than constitutional and ethical in the pursuit of convictions."
The trial Justice thereafter addressed the second factor consideration included in the Coelho directive, namely, his obligation to do what is right and equitable under the law. He properly noted, as I do, the intended purpose of Rule 16 in criminal proceedings in this state.
Rule 16 of the Superior Court Rules of Criminal Procedure became effective on September 1, 1972, and, as amended in 1974, had for its intended purpose "to provide for the fullest, reciprocal discovery in criminal cases in the Superior Court * * *." Rule 16 Reporter's Notes to 1974 Amendment. In State v. Garcia, 643 A.2d 180 (R.I. 1994), this Court said that the purpose of Rule 16 was to "ensure that both parties receive the fullest possible presentation of the facts prior to trial." 643 A.2d at 186 (quoting State v. Concannon, 457 A.2d 1350, 1353 (R.I. 1983)). We acknowledged later in State v. Evans, 668 A.2d 1256, 1259 (R.I. 1996), that our Rule 16 was among the most liberal discovery mechanisms in this country and t
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Rhode Island Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|