What is the effect of prosecutorial misconduct in a sexual abuse case?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from Pitts v. County of Kern, 17 Cal.4th 340, 70 Cal.Rptr.2d 823, 949 P.2d 920 (Cal. 1998):

Plaintiffs were convicted in 1985 of multiple counts of sexual abuse of young children and were each sentenced to hundreds of years in prison. In [17 Cal.4th 367] 1990, after they had served several years in state prison, their convictions were overturned on appeal because of numerous instances of prosecutorial misconduct and errors on the part of the trial judge. (People v. Pitts (1990) 223 Cal.App.3d 606, 273 Cal.Rptr. 757.) In 1991, the district attorney dismissed the case against plaintiffs. By 1994, all of the original child witnesses who had testified recanted and claimed to have been forced to falsely testify. After the dismissal, plaintiffs filed suit against the County of Kern, the sheriff, the district attorney and several members of the district attorney's office. The focus of the complaint was on the alleged misconduct of some of the deputy district attorneys and an investigator with the district attorney's office in coercing false testimony from children, as well as suppressing and failing to reveal exculpatory

Page 841

Other Questions


What is the range of damages available to a victim of sexual abuse who has been sexually abused as a child as a result of the abuse? (California, United States of America)
What is the effect of admitting evidence of sexual abuse committed by defendant in a sexual assault case? (California, United States of America)
Is child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome properly admitted in sexual abuse cases? (California, United States of America)
Does a defendant's sexual misconduct with respect to both victims of the same sexual assault have a greater probative value than the accused's prior sexual misconduct? (California, United States of America)
In a sexual abuse case, is there any evidence that a doctor who treated a child for sexual abuse was involved in the treatment of about 100 victims? (California, United States of America)
What is the cumulative effect of prosecutorial misconduct on a defendant's case? (California, United States of America)
What is the prejudicial effect of evidence of physical abuse against a plaintiff in a sexual assault case? (California, United States of America)
Can continuous sexual abuse and specific sexual abuse in the same proceeding? (California, United States of America)
What is the effect of section 288.5 of the California Penal Code on sex abuse cases involving a child molester who engaged in sexual acts with his victim while living with or having close contact with them? (California, United States of America)
How have the courts dealt with allegations of prosecutorial misconduct in a sexual assault case? (California, United States of America)
X



Alexi white


"The most advanced legal research software ever built."

Trusted by top litigators from across North America.