A recent study released by the Prosecutorial Oversight Coalition and con­duct­ed by the Veritas Initiative of California found that although Texas pros­e­cu­tors com­mit­ted error in 91 cas­es between 2004 and 2008, none of those cas­es result­ed in dis­ci­pli­nary action against the pros­e­cu­tor. Misconduct was found most often in mur­der cas­es. Courts upheld the con­vic­tion in 72 of the cas­es and reversed it in 19. At a sym­po­sium dis­cussing the research, two men who were wrong­ful­ly con­vict­ed because of pros­e­cu­to­r­i­al mis­con­duct, Michael Morton of Texas and John Thompson of Louisiana, called for increased account­abil­i­ty in such instances. Thompson spent 16 years on death row and was even­tu­al­ly freed, but a finan­cial judg­ment he had won against the District Attorney’s office was reversed. In Morton’s case, a court of inquiry sched­uled to begin in September will inves­ti­gate whether the pros­e­cu­tor (who is now a judge) com­mit­ted crim­i­nal mis­con­duct in with­hold­ing evi­dence, result­ing in Morton’s being wrong­ly impris­oned for 25 years. Cookie Ridolfi, a pro­fes­sor at Santa Clara University School of Law and one of the researchers for the study, said, ​“Most pros­e­cu­to­r­i­al mis­con­duct is not inten­tion­al, but we know from John Thompson’s and Michael Morton’s cas­es that when it hap­pens, the con­se­quences can be dev­as­tat­ing. What’s clear from this data is that we’re not doing near­ly enough to doc­u­ment the scope of the prob­lem and the dis­ci­pli­nary sys­tems as they cur­rent­ly exist are vastly inadequate.”

(B. Grissom, ​“Study: Prosecutors Not Disciplined for Misconduct,” Texas Tribune, March 30, 2012; Prosecutorial Oversight Coalition, ​“New Research Illustrates Lack of Accountability for Prosecutors in Texas,” Press Release, March 29, 2012.)

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