Buy the Book Breaking the Rules Who suffers when a prosecutor is cited for misconduct? WASHINGTON, June 26, 2003 — Local prosecutors in many of the 2,341 jurisdictions across the nation have stretched, bent or broken rules to win convictions, the Center has found. Since 1970, individual judges and appellate court panels cited prosecutorial misconduct as a factor when dismissing charges, reversing convictions or reducing sentences in over 2,000 cases. In another 500 cases, appellate judges offered opinions—either dissents or concurrences—in which they found the misconduct warranted a reversal. In thousands more, judges labeled prosecutorial behavior inappropriate, but upheld convictions using a doctrine called "harmless error." Misconduct by prosecutors led to the conviction of innocent individuals who were later exonerated. Guilty defendants have also had their convictions overturned and are placed back on the street. In addition, the Center found many prosecutors who were cited multiple times for misconduct. These prosecutors give recidivism—a word usually used to describe those they work to put behind bars—a disturbing new meaning. >>

Prosecutor Profiles A Poisoned Prosecution Misconduct in sexual abuse cases damages reputations—and can ruin lives Changing an Office's Culture In San Diego County, prosecutors have tried to do the right thing—but haven't always succeeded Inside an Office An Elected Prosecutor Explains Turning on Their Own A group of former prosecutors cites a colleague's pattern of misconduct Playing By the Rules Even when a prosecutor tries to do everything right, the wrong person may still be convicted Analyses Anatomy of Misconduct There's much to learn when a trial goes terribly wrong A Question of Integrity Prosecutors dispute the significance of 'prosecutorial misconduct' Punishing the Wrongfully Convicted Federal law keeps defendants denied a fair trial – including those who may be innocent – behind bars Shielding Misconduct The law immunizes prosecutors from civil suits A Short History of Exposing Misconduct An unlikely cast of characters has shone a spotlight on bad prosecutors, and on occasion sparked reform Actual Innocence Exonerated defendants whose cases involved prosecutorial misconduct Misconduct and Punishment State disciplinary authorities investigate prosecutors accused of misconduct

Database Search Go to the database of judicial rulings. >>	In Your State Visit our map to access information on prosecutorial misconduct in every state. >>
Methodology Learn about our database and the origins of our study. >>	Team The team that worked on the Harmful Error project. >>