DOJ on Prosecutorial Misconduct

NACDL is dedicated to securing meaningful, systematic reform and to preventing the insidious harm caused when a prosecutor carelessly, or purposefully, fails in his or her duties to us all. Prosecutorial overreaching and misconduct distort the truth-finding process and taint the credibility of the criminal justice system, including the outcomes they generate. When prosecutors’ fundamental obligations are ignored and individuals’ rights are violated in order to secure a conviction, little can be done to rectify the wrongs inflicted upon the individuals involved and on the system itself. So long as this serious deficiency exists in the criminal justice system, NACDL will be on the frontlines seeking to ensure justice and due process for all and to promote the proper and fair administration of criminal justice. This page contains resources from the Department of Justice on the problem of prosecutorial misconduct.

NEW! Government Accountability Office, Report to Congressional Committees, Professional Misconduct: DOJ Could Streghten Procedures for Disciplining Its Attorneys (December 2014)

Available below are materials from the Department of Justice (DOJ) relating to prosecutorial misconduct.

Department of Justice Policies

U.S. Attorney’s Manual – Titles 1 and 9

DOJ Justice Management Divisions – Government Ethics Outline  

Department of Justice Publications

DOJ Office of  Legislative Affairs – Letter to Senators Leahy and Smith on the OPR Report on the Stevens Case, May 24, 2012

DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility – Report: Investigation of allegations of prosecutorial misconduct in United States v. Theodore F. Stevens, Crim. No. 08-231 (D.D.C. 2009), Aug. 15, 2011

DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility – Analytical Framework re: allegations of prosecutorial misconduct (2005)

Department of Justice Press Releases

Press Release, Andrew Goldsmith Appointed as National Coordinator of Criminal Discovery Initiatives, January 15, 2010

Justice News, Memos to U.S. Attorneys: Establishing Guidance for Prosecutors Regarding Criminal Discovery, January 4, 2010

Press Release, Department Asks Alaska Corruption Cases Be Remanded to District Court, Former State Representatives Be Released, June 4, 2009

Press Release, Statement of Attorney General Eric Holder Regarding U.S. v. Theodore Stevens, April 1, 2009

GAO Reports on Department of Justice

Government Accountability Office, Report to Congressional Committees, Professional Misconduct: DOJ Could Streghten Procedures for Disciplining Its Attorneys (December 2014) 

Government Accounting Office (GAO), Letter to Reps. Hyde and Delahunt, Follow-up Information on the Operations of the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility (January 2001)

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Government Accounting Office (GAO), Report to Congressional Requesters, Department of Justice - Information on the Office of Professional Responsibility's Operations (August 2000)

Government Accounting Office (GAO), Report to Congressional Requesters, Department of Justice - Office of Professional Responsibility's Case-Handling Procedures (March 1995)

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