Tuesday, December 21, 2004

State AG Withheld Evidence

A North Carolina lead prosecutor, for the Attorney General's office, Jim Coman, admits, then retreats, from the statement that it was office policy to withhold exculpatory evidence from the defense. Several prosecutors, in his office are under investigation, by the state BAR, for withholding evidence in two capital cases.
In September, the state's senior prosecutor was in an unusual place: the witness stand. And what he said has caused quite a stir among lawyers around the state.
Jim Coman said under oath that the state Attorney General's Office had a policy of withholding a certain type of evidence helpful to defendants. As he described it, the policy would violate 30 years of U.S. Supreme Court rulings. Read the article

Law enforcement, criminal defense, investigations