DOJ retraining prosecutors

[BlueJessamine]

DOJ retraining prosecutors

POLITICO

Just a week after a federal judge named a special prosecutor to investigate alleged withholding of evidence ...

... by the team prosecuting former senator Ted Stevens, Attorney General Holder is ordering that prosecutors throughout the Justice Department brush up on their obligations to disclose information to defendants and their attorneys.

“I am committed to ensuring that our prosecutors are provided sufficient training to understand fully their discovery obligations, and that they receive the support and resources necessary to do their jobs in a manner consistent with the proud traditions of this Department,” Holder said in a statement. “The actions we are taking today are part of an ongoing process to ensure justice is served in every case the Department brings. We will continue to review how cases are managed before, during and after charges are filed, and where there is room for improvement, we will make additional changes."

A statement from the department said it would initiate "supplemental training" for prosecutors "in the coming weeks. Holder is also establishing a working group of senior prosecutors and other officials to review evidence disclosure policies and consider ways that technology could be used to improve the process.

The moves appear to comply with Judge Emmet Sullivan's suggestion from the bench last week that Holder implement department-wide training about prosecutors' duties to comply with their obligation to turn over evidence that could aid defendants or undermine the credibility of prosecution witnesses. Sullivan said prosecutors in the Stevens case repeatedly failed to satisfy those obligations.

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0409/doj_retraining_prosecutors_c1d803e3-437a-4c67-b9ba-01a19a4da8c8.html

Attorney General Announces Increased Training, Review of Process for Providing Materials to Defense in Criminal Cases

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/April/09-opa-338.html