https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2017/09/25/...
There's absolutely no social good coming out of such behavior, and it should be pointed out and castigated.
And yes, this does, in fact, happen, because prosecutors are effectively rewarded for successful prosecutions, regardless of the false positive rate.
Curious: By that token, how do you feel about DA's trying to win cases on legal technicalities. Are they living up to the expectations of their job?
There are also pragmatic issues; prosecutorial accountability matters even in adversarial systems (accountability not in the sense of dealing with prosecutorial misconduct, but to ensure that prosecutors act consistently and in the public interest). Prosecutors aren't or shouldn't be free agents.
And be clear that was never the case. Prosecutorial discretion is and has almost always been the case.
I could just as easily claim that attorneys in the US are supposed to be about upholding the spirit, as much as the letter, of the law.
That said, if we're focusing on the most effective change like downandout, we should be changing the orders, not expecting each person to each adjust them, hopefully in appropriate ways.
It is idealistic to think you can make perfect laws that are easily understood by anyone such that training isn't necessary.
Or to be more exact it's very hard for a DA to be elected when they appear to be lenient on crime.
The prosecution and the policing parts of the criminal justice system can quite easily be influenced through the popular vote.
Where do you think judges come from? A judge who doesn't believe all the bullshit that prosecutors believe, is a rare judge indeed.
Their job is to see justice for the harm to society which is not benefited by sending innocent people to prison.
That's their job.
* Legislators create the law. (legislative branch)
* Prosecutors sue for enforcement of the law. (executive branch)
* Judgement to use JUDGEment in applying the law. (judical branch)
If you have sucky laws or indescriminate judges, fix those. Don't cast dispersions on prosecutors for prosecuting laws they didn't write, for sentences they don't make.
Not maintaining the balance of powers is how you wind up with out-of-whack and mismanaged governments.
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EDIT: Prosecutors are the inverse of defense attornies. Why is the DA defending this scumbag of a human being?!?! Because that's their job: provide the best possible defense for accused criminals. Likewise, prosecutors provide the best possible prosecution. Denegrating either one for their role is misunderstanding their functions in the judical system.