Along with signing a major asset forfeiture reform bill last week, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law making it a felony for prosecutors to intentionally withhold evidence.
Under the new law, prosecutors who alter or intentionally withhold evidence from defense counsels can face up to three years in prison. Previously, prosecutorial misconduct in California was only a misdemeanor. Courts were statutorily required to report misconduct to the state bar association, but advocates of the bill say the laws were rarely enforced.
This SHOULD have been a felony all along. Just like the damned courts and bar associations should've been going after prosecutors who did it. We'll see if they obey this law.
And what prompted this long-overdue change? Innocent people going to prison, and other crap like this:
As I reported back in August
as the bill was winding its way through the state senate, the
legislation was introduced amid a wave of embarrassing scandals that led
in one instance to the entire Orange County District Attorney's Office
being removed from a high-profile murder case:
No enforce it, you bastards.
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