Under a bill filed March 10 by Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, prosecutors who knowingly withhold evidence favorable to a defendant could face felony prosecution and time in a state jail. Senate Bill 1608 would also repeal the statute of limitations on charging prosecutors with official oppression in cases where they’ve knowingly withheld exculpatory evidence.
The bill comes as the number of defendants found to be wrongfully convicted continues to grow — including 19 Dallas Co. men who have been exonerated. Dallas Co. First Assistant District Attorney Terri Moore told the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram that the bill would expose prosecutors to criminal liability even if they were unaware that evidence had been withheld, perhaps by police: “Now I’m committing a felony because I didn’t turn over something to the defense that I didn’t even know existed?” she said. “I got a problem with that.”
But Austin Dem Rep. Eliott Naishtat, who filed a companion measure in the House, told the daily the bill was needed. “We need to make it clear to all prosecutors that suppression of evidence favorable to the defendant is unacceptable and illegal.”
This article appears in March 13 • 2009.