Abstract

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The Prosecutor's Duty to Truth

Bennett L. Gershman
Pace University - School of Law

Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, Vol. 14, No. 2, Winter 2001

Abstract:
Curiously, despite extensive documentation of erroneous convictions, widespread prosecutorial abuses that contribute to wrongful convictions, and a plethora of academic literature on the ethical responsibilities of prosecutor, there has been little discussion of the prosecutor's legal and ethical duty to truth. As I hope to demonstrate, the prosecutor has a legal and ethical duty to promote truth and to refrain from conduct that impedes truth. The courts have explicitly recognized the existence of this duty, and have implicitly recognized this duty by reversing convictions when a prosecutor engages in conduct that undermines the search for truth.

Keywords: prosecutors

Accepted Paper Series

Date posted: September 25, 2001 ; Last revised: November 04, 2008

Suggested Citation

Gershman, Bennett L., The Prosecutor's Duty to Truth. Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, Vol. 14, No. 2, Winter 2001. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=281833

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Contact Information

Bennett L. Gershman (Contact Author)

Pace University - School of Law ( email )

78 North Broadway
White Plains, NY 10603
United States
914-422-4255 (Phone)
914-422-4168 (Fax)