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While becoming a lawyer without going to law school, I exonerated an innocent man who was serving life in prison for murder. That man was put behind bars by an

While becoming a lawyer without going to law school, I exonerated an innocent man who was serving life in prison for murder. That man was put behind bars by an incompetent prosecutor... who had become a lawyer without going to law school. (Seriously.)

cperciva 9y ago
That man was put behind bars by an incompetent prosecutor Unless there was prosecutorial malpractice involved, I'd say that the man whom you exonerated was put behind bars by a judge and a jury.
- Larrikin 9y ago
  So you're implying a lawyer plays no role?
  - ckastner 9y ago
    The power to put people behind bars solely rests with the judge and jury. The prosecutor, by definition, played a role in the process, but it's not the deciding role.
    - nickthemagicman 9y ago
      How bad was the defense attorney then?
    - geebee 9y ago
      depending on the circumstances, I do think a prosecutor can play a pivotal role. There are examples of misconduct where a prosecutor fails to turn over exculpatory evidence that is so convincing as to make prosecution essentially impossible. It's true that the jury and judge make the decision, but there are cases where they would almost certainly have reached a different decision had the prosecution behaved ethically.
gl00pp 9y ago
wiki sed you wen Harvard Law. I no secret
rahimnathwani 9y ago
It's a prosecutor's job to get someone convicted. So, given they succeeded, why do you consider them incompetent? Perhaps the innocent man's own lawyer (defender) was incompetent?
- function_seven 9y ago
  > It's a prosecutor's job to get someone convicted. It's their job to seek justice. May seem like a distinction without a difference, but it's a crucial one. http://www.henrycty.com/Departments/States-Attorney/The-Role-of-a-Prosecutor http://www.henrycty.com/Departments/States-Attorney/The-Role... https://sidebarsblog.com/prosecutorial-misconduct-spiderman-principle/ https://sidebarsblog.com/prosecutorial-misconduct-spiderman-...
  - rahimnathwani 9y ago
    From your link: "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." Assuming the prosecutor believed the man to be guilty, and that the prosecutor didn't use improper methods to secure a conviction, I'd say they were competent. Now, if they used _improper methods _to secure the conviction of an innocent man, or if they knew the man to be innocent, that's another matter. I'd agree that the prosecutor is in incompetent (in the sense of "not fit to be a officer of the court", and not in the sense of "not having the skills required to do the job"). But the post to which I replied made no mention of this evil intent, so I gave the prosecutor the benefit of the doubt.
    - function_seven 9y ago
      > But the post to which I replied made no mention of this evil intent, so I gave the prosecutor the benefit of the doubt. It made mention of incompetence. I'll give OP the benefit of it here, since that's what sparked this whole thread. For what it's worth, I think this is the case: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14814597 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14814597

cperciva 9y ago

That man was put behind bars by an incompetent prosecutor Unless there was prosecutorial malpractice involved, I'd say that the man whom you exonerated was put behind bars by a judge and a jury.

Larrikin 9y ago
So you're implying a lawyer plays no role?
- ckastner 9y ago
  The power to put people behind bars solely rests with the judge and jury. The prosecutor, by definition, played a role in the process, but it's not the deciding role.
  - nickthemagicman 9y ago
    How bad was the defense attorney then?
  - geebee 9y ago
    depending on the circumstances, I do think a prosecutor can play a pivotal role. There are examples of misconduct where a prosecutor fails to turn over exculpatory evidence that is so convincing as to make prosecution essentially impossible. It's true that the jury and judge make the decision, but there are cases where they would almost certainly have reached a different decision had the prosecution behaved ethically.

gl00pp 9y ago

wiki sed you wen Harvard Law. I no secret

rahimnathwani 9y ago

It's a prosecutor's job to get someone convicted. So, given they succeeded, why do you consider them incompetent? Perhaps the innocent man's own lawyer (defender) was incompetent?

function_seven 9y ago
> It's a prosecutor's job to get someone convicted. It's their job to seek justice. May seem like a distinction without a difference, but it's a crucial one. http://www.henrycty.com/Departments/States-Attorney/The-Role-of-a-Prosecutor http://www.henrycty.com/Departments/States-Attorney/The-Role... https://sidebarsblog.com/prosecutorial-misconduct-spiderman-principle/ https://sidebarsblog.com/prosecutorial-misconduct-spiderman-...
- rahimnathwani 9y ago
  From your link: "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." Assuming the prosecutor believed the man to be guilty, and that the prosecutor didn't use improper methods to secure a conviction, I'd say they were competent. Now, if they used _improper methods _to secure the conviction of an innocent man, or if they knew the man to be innocent, that's another matter. I'd agree that the prosecutor is in incompetent (in the sense of "not fit to be a officer of the court", and not in the sense of "not having the skills required to do the job"). But the post to which I replied made no mention of this evil intent, so I gave the prosecutor the benefit of the doubt.
  - function_seven 9y ago
    > But the post to which I replied made no mention of this evil intent, so I gave the prosecutor the benefit of the doubt. It made mention of incompetence. I'll give OP the benefit of it here, since that's what sparked this whole thread. For what it's worth, I think this is the case: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14814597 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14814597