The report on prosecutorial misconduct in U.S. v. Stevens is noteworthy in many respects. It is thorough, candid and well documented. The special counsel, Henry F. Schuelke, had unprecedented access to internal communications among members of the prosecution team and testimony from the prosecutors themselves about their conduct. This kind of direct evidence about the preparation and conduct of a trial is usually shielded from public view. For that reason in particular, the report is valuable. Its conclusion that the prosecution was “permeated by the systematic concealment of exculpatory evidence” is amply supported by facts painstakingly drawn from the participants and carefully and objectively reported.
What makes the report more valuable is the force with which the facts prove the need for discovery reform in criminal cases. As the latest and best documented example of concealment by experienced prosecutors in a high-stakes case, its rare behind-the-scenes view of experienced prosecutors debating about evidence that was clearly exculpatory demonstrates why nothing less than changes in the discovery rules will ensure compliance with the demands of Brady v. Maryland (1963).
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