Recently there have been examples of law enforcement officers (State Troopers, Sheriffs, Municipal Police) who have been arrested and charged with DUI. It is always alarming when this happens as these individuals know more about the dangers of this activity than the general populace and more importantly, are often actively involved in the arrest and prosecution of DUI subjects. However, when these officers are charged with DUI should the local prosecuting attorney treat them any differently than a normal defendant? Should the officer charged with a DUI be made an example of? Barring any extraordinary facts, the only answer is NO. A prosecutor has a duty to perform justice – to do what is right. To prosecute an individual and try and make an example of that person, in this case a police officer charged with DUI, seems to ignore the old adage, “justice is blind.” Every individual should be treated in the same manner as a similarly situated citizen – period! More on this topic in the days ahead but for now, see the city rules and cases below that demand prosecutors do “justice.”
Definition:
Justice n. 1) fairness. 2) moral rightness. 3) a scheme or system of law in which every person receives his/her/its due from the system, including all rights, both natural and legal.
National Rules and Standards
American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct
3.8 – Special Responsibilities of Prosecutor
Comment [1]:
“ A prosecutor has the responsibility of a minister of justice and not simply that of an advocate. This responsibility carries with it specific obligations to see that the defendant is accorded procedural justice and that guilt is decided upon the basis of sufficient evidence.”
American Bar Association Standards for Criminal Justice
3-1.2(c): The Function of the Prosecutor
The duty of the prosecutor is to seek justice, not merely to convict.
National District Attorneys Association Prosecution Standards
1.1 Primary Responsibility
The primary responsibility of prosecution is to see that justice is accomplished.
Case
Berger v. U.S., 295 U.S. 78, 88 (1935).
" The United States Attorney is the representative not of an ordinary party to a controversy, but of a sovereignty whose obligation to govern impartially is as compelling as its obligation to govern at all; and whose interest, therefore, in a criminal prosecution is not that it shall win a case, but that justice shall be done. As such, he is in a peculiar and very definite sense the servant of the law, the twofold aim of which is that guilt shall not escape nor innocence suffer. He may prosecute with earnestness and vigor—indeed, he should do so. But, while he may strike hard blows, he is not at liberty to strike foul ones. It is as much his duty to refrain from improper methods calculated to produce a wrongful conviction as it is to use every legitimate means to bring about a just one."
For information on your Washington State DUI please contact our Snohomish County DUI attorneys, King County DUI attorneys, Island County DUI attorneys, Whatcom County DUI attorneys, or Skagit County DUI attorneys at 425-493-1115 or check out our website at http://www.washdui.com
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