Supreme Court Protects Prosecutorial Misconduct That Threatens the Innocent

As you think about whom you’ll vote for, let me tell you about two decisions of the Roberts Court where the Court sprang to the defense of prosecutors whose denials of constitutional protections had put innocent men in prison for decades.

Eye-witness Testimony

I’m delighted that the Occupy Wall Street movement has shifted the discussion from the demands of those who want to accumulate ever larger shares of the wealth of America, leaving less and less to most Americans, to the vision of those who understand that the true wealth of America is in the welfare and the future of its people. It requires a degree of willpower to call your attention to something else. But there are a couple of cases being argued in the U.S. Supreme Court, one tomorrow and one next week, that deserve a word. So this week let me address the one tomorrow.

Perry v. New Hampshire will be argued tomorrow at 10. The question is whether the trial judge was required to pass on the reliability of eye witness identification before letting the testimony go to the jury.