Do You Have the Right Not To Be Framed?

Dodd | Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Supreme Court hears oral argument today in Pottawattamie County v McGee, wherein they will have to decide if prosecutors have immunity from lawsuits even if they frame someone for murder.

On one side of the case being argued are Iowa prosecutors who contend “there is no freestanding right not to be framed.” They are backed by the Obama administration, 28 states and every major prosecutors organization in the country.

On the other side are two black men — Terry Harrington and Curtis McGhee — men who served 25 years in prison before evidence long hidden in police files resulted in them being freed.

[...]

The Supreme Court has indeed said that prosecutors are immune from suit for anything they do at trial. But in this case, Harrington and McGhee maintain that before anyone being charged, prosecutors gathered evidence alongside police, interviewed witnesses and knew the testimony they were assembling was false.

Hard though it might be to believe, this is actually a difficult decision. The balance between protecting diligent prosecutors from suit and protecting defendants from the bad apples is not a simple thing. The good news is that a case like this is amenable to a bright-line rule against intentional misconduct. The bad news is, the Supreme Court has shown a consistent disdain for bright-line rules for some time.

Heretical Ideas previewed this case last month.

Tags | Dodd Harris, Law and the Courts 10, 9/11, bad apples, defendant, evidence, Free, Heretical Ideas, ICE, Immunity, Iowa, Justice, law, murder, NPR, NYT, Obama, Obama Administration, police, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Supreme Court, TIME, Wh, WordPress

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OTB Latenight – Ednaswap

Dodd | Sunday, November 1, 2009

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OTB Latenight – The Allman Brothers Band

Dodd | Friday, October 30, 2009

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OTB Latenight – John Cleese

Dodd | Tuesday, October 27, 2009

In honour of John Cleese’s 70th birthday, here’s something completely different:

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OTB Latenight – Sister Hazel

Dodd | Sunday, October 25, 2009

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OTB Latenight – Linda Ronstadt

Dodd | Friday, October 23, 2009

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OTB Latenight – Jackson Browne

Dodd | Tuesday, October 20, 2009

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OTB Latenight – Leroy Van Dyke

Dodd | Sunday, October 18, 2009

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OTB Latenight – Fatboy Slim

Dodd | Friday, October 16, 2009

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OTB Latenight – The Cult

Dodd | Wednesday, October 14, 2009

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OTB Latenight – Sir Mix-A-Lot

Dodd | Monday, October 12, 2009

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OTB Latenight – Bad Company

Dodd | Saturday, October 10, 2009

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OTB Latenight – Rolling Stones

Dodd | Thursday, October 8, 2009

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OTB Latenight – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Dodd | Monday, October 5, 2009

Tags | Dodd Harris, Late Night OTB Lynyrd Skynyrd

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