Defense Attorney Perceptions of Prosecutorial Assistance in Exoneration Cases

• In Event: Miscarriages of Justice: Fresh Perspectives

Abstract

Prosecutors have recently taken on an increasingly public role in the innocence movement. Once faulted for obstructing the path to exoneration, prosecutors are now celebrated for clearing it. Yet, while the fact of assistance has received recognition—and the advent of conviction integrity units has caught the attention of media and scholars alike—the quality of prosecutorial assistance in exoneration cases remains in question. This study probes prosecutors’ substantive contribution to facilitating exoneration cases through in-depth qualitative interviews with postconviction defense attorneys. Interview questions focus on the defense attorney’s perception of prosecutorial assistance in a specific case, as well as working relationships with prosecutors in the postconviction setting in general.

Author

• Elizabeth Webster, Rutgers University