South Carolina Criminal Defense Blog

In May of this year, I blogged about a California prosecutor, Ben Field, who was being investigated for misconduct for things such as withholding evidence, failing to inform the defense that a key prosecution witness may have participated in the crime, and initiating searches of the homes of a defendant's family and friends despite a judge's order not to do so without prior approval.

I came across an update to the story, and what struck me as I was reading was the role that the media played in bringing this prosecutor's conduct into the light of day. The Mercury News ran a series in 2006 called "Tainted Trials, Stolen Justice," in which "the Mercury News reviewed Field's conduct, and found a pattern of questionable conduct in earlier cases as well." The Mercury News continued to follow the story, keeping the pressure on the California state bar to do something about the situation.

In May of this year, the California bar began a series of disciplinary hearings into Field's conduct.

But as Field won convictions in one difficult case after another, his aggressive conduct in the courtroom raised questions about whether he was twisting facts and defying judges to gain his victories. And beginning today, that conduct will be at issue in a rare state bar hearing examining allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.

In October, the California bar recommended a punishment of disbarment for a three year period:

Contending that a top local prosecutor repeatedly sought to subvert justice, the state bar is recommending that Ben Field be suspended from practicing law for three years — a punishment that would represent an unheard of public discipline against a Santa Clara County deputy district attorney.

. . .

The bar contends the four cases demonstrated repeated "acts of dishonesty and an intent to subvert the proper workings of the criminal justice system." In one case they cited, Field concealed from defense attorneys that he knew the location of a witness whom the defense was having trouble locating. Instead, he urged that defense efforts to win a new trial be rejected because the witness was missing.

Now, California prosecutors are seeking to pass a law that would limit the bar's ability to sanction lawyers for misconduct:

In the wake of a disciplinary hearing against a top local prosecutor, the union that represents Santa Clara County prosecutors and public defenders is asking the California District Attorneys Association to sponsor a bill that would essentially curb the power of the state bar to punish all lawyers.

The type of conduct Field engaged in, seeking to win cases at the expense of justice and all that the justice system is supposed to stand for, happens in every state in the country. If it were not for investigative reporting and subsequent media exposure, this Field guy would be well on his way to a judgeship, attorney general or other political office. Hell, he may still be, but hopefully he won't be a prosecutor any longer.

It is sad that it took extensive media coverage to shame the state bar into doing something about prosecutorial misconduct, and now that something is being done the prosecutors are seeking to limit the state bar's supervisory abilities. This is a problem that should be addressed throughout the country - when judges, at the trial level and on appeal, refuse to dismiss cases or sanction prosecutors in any way, and when the state bar refuses to sanction prosecutors for misconduct, the message is clear: it is OK to withhold Brady material, lie, cheat, and do whatever you have to do in order to win cases. The power of the media to effect change in a broken system cannot be understated, and that power carries with it a huge responsibility.