The duty of defense and prosecuting attorneys

The duty of defense and prosecuting attorneys should be to seek the truth, but over time, this concept has become ambiguous. It seems that obtaining a win for either side has become more important than acquiring justice for all. The Michael Morton case changed the way prosecutors handle exculpatory evidence in Texas. In 2014, Texas lawmakers enacted the “Michael Morton Act” (Pollock, 2019, p. 287), which “mandates that all prosecutors in the state [of Texas] maintain an ‘open file’ policy meaning defense attorneys should have access to everything prosecutors have unless there is some reason it should be secret” (Pollock, 2019, p. 287). Review this video on the case of Michael Morton, and discuss the lack of accountability for prosecutorial misconduct and how it exacerbates this type of behavior. What type of laws or internal reprimands or consequences may help prevent this type of behavior?

Sample Solution