“The time has come to create some level of accountability for prosecutors.” —The Hon. Fredric Block, Let’s Put an End to Prosecutorial Immunity, March 13, 2018
The most recent demands for prosecutorial accountability stem from disclosures concerning the conduct of New York hedge fund manager Jeffrey Epstein, and the agreement not to prosecute him entered into by then U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Alex Acosta. Godoy, Jody, “Epstein Case: A Turning Point for Prosecutorial Accountability?” Law 360 (Feb. 11, 2019). This discussion comes on the heels of the barrage of criticism that has been leveled against prosecutors in social media and on the airwaves for more than a year, and a decade of development of objective data relating to wrongful convictions and the improper prosecutorial actions that contributed to them. Each of these discussions, taken individually, is driven by dramatically different interests; however diverse may be the impetus of the debates, they all share a common complaint: Prosecutors have enormous power and can wield it with veritable impunity, unfettered by professional, ethical or civil penalties.
