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Prosecutorial Assistance As a Pathway to Exoneration

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Prosecutorial Assistance As a Pathway to Exoneration A POSTCONVICTION MENTALITY: PROSECUTORIAL ASSISTANCE AS A PATHWAY TO EXONERATION By Elizabeth Webster A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL- NEWARK, RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Criminal Justice Written under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth Griffiths and approved by ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Newark, New Jersey October 2018 © 2018 Elizabeth Webster ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT In the wake of identifiable errors, many prosecutors are beginning to acknowledge wrongful convictions. They have the discretion to overturn wrongful convictions, and they are uniquely positioned to do so. Still, very little scholarship has explored how, when, and why prosecutors choose to assist with exoneration. Therefore, the three broad aims of the present study include: 1) examining the determinants, motivations, and processes influencing prosecutors’ decisions to assist with innocence claims that have resulted in exoneration; 2) exploring the successes and challenges of postconviction collaboration between prosecutors and defense attorneys; and 3) identifying how prosecutorial assistance could open pathways to exoneration. To meet these aims, the study employs a mixed methods research design, featuring semi-structured interviews with 19 prosecutors and 19 defense attorneys and multivariate regression analyses of a large sample of state exoneration cases. Interviewees are selected from cases identified in the National Registry of Exonerations (NRE). All prosecutor respondents have assisted with an innocence claim that resulted in full exoneration, and all defense attorney respondents have represented a client who was exonerated with the help of a prosecutor. For the quantitative component, data collected by the NRE (N=1,610) measures prosecutorial assistance using an ordinal variable to capture differing levels of assistance. Analyses reveal a range of case-related factors that influence prosecutors’ receptivity to assist with exoneration. Overall, findings indicate that although prosecutors have become more responsive to acknowledging and correcting factual errors, they still respond within the context of a legal structure that has not been established to correct these kinds of ii errors. This has implications for the nature, degree, and quality of postconviction assistance that prosecutors provide. Their postconviction decision making appears to be motivated by a desire to do justice, to protect professional relationships and reputations, and to optimize efficiency. This research investigates an underexplored area and offers both theoretical and practical value. The results will aid system actors as they develop best practices for uncovering wrongful convictions efficiently and build collaborative working relationships in the postconviction setting. This project was supported by Grant Number (2017-IJ-CX-0012), awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice. A version of the content of Chapter 4 is forthcoming in Justice Quarterly. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is dedicated to the wrongfully convicted and to all those who fight for their vindication. To the 38 defense attorneys and prosecutors who participated in this study, I wish to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude. In addition, this study would not have been possible without the generous support of the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice Dean’s Research Grant as well as the National Institute of Justice Graduate Research Fellowship. First, a deep bow to Elizabeth Griffiths, my brilliant Dissertation Chair. Beth, I hope to hear echoes of your wisdom for years to come. Thank you for lending your extraordinary skills and talents to this effort. I have been exceedingly lucky to have you in my court, and I will never ever forget it. Thank you also to the other members of the committee who have proved instrumental, not only in the success of the dissertation, but also in my new life as an emergent scholar. To Jody Miller, thank you for trusting and believing in me from the start and for modeling such extraordinary integrity as a scholar and as a professor. To Sarah Lageson, thank you for understanding and anticipating every step and every hurdle along the way. You are, quite simply, unbelievably awesome. To Daniel Medwed, I am thrilled to have had your feedback on this work. Your engaging writing style and commanding grasp of the subject are the reasons I became interested in it in the first place. iv To Luke, thank you for your sweat equity, your emotional support, your editing advice, and your adventurous spirit. We undertook this effort together five years ago, and this is your achievement as well. To J.J. Gerwe, our son, you are our inspiration. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................1 Prosecutors and Wrongful Convictions in Context .............................................................. 2 The Need for Empirical Research ........................................................................................... 5 Study Design .............................................................................................................................. 6 Dissertation Outline .................................................................................................................. 8 Chapter 2. Literature Review .........................................................................................10 Factors Weighing on Criminal Justice Decision Making Writ Large .............................. 10 Applying Pre-conviction Theories of Discretion to the Postconviction Context ............ 11 Pathways to Exoneration and Postconviction Discretion.................................................. 20 Chapter 3. Methodology ..................................................................................................24 Dataset ...................................................................................................................................... 25 Quantitative Analyses ............................................................................................................. 26 Qualitative Analyses ............................................................................................................... 29 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 45 Chapter 4. Case-Related Factors Influencing Prosecutorial Assistance with Exoneration .....................................................................................................................47 Description of Variables ........................................................................................................ 50 Analytical Approach ............................................................................................................... 58 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 59 Discussion ................................................................................................................................ 63 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 70 Chapter 5. Prosecutorial Discretion as the Final Safeguard Against False Convictions ......................................................................................................................71 Discovering Organizational Accidents through Appellate Review .................................. 73 The Workplace: Management Decisions .............................................................................. 77 The Attorney: Individual Decisions ...................................................................................... 94 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................ 103 Chapter 6. The Right (and Wrong) Reasons to Do the Right Thing: Why Prosecutors Assist with Exoneration ..................................................................108 Balancing Quasi-Judicial and Adversarial Roles Postconviction .................................. 110 The Right Reasons ................................................................................................................. 112 The Wrong Reasons .............................................................................................................. 117 vi Defense Perceptions of Prosecutors’ Motives ................................................................... 121 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 129 Chapter 7. Conclusion ...................................................................................................132 Examining Determinants and Motivations ......................................................................
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