About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

50 Tex. L. Rev. 629 (1971-1972)
Courtroom Misconduct by Prosecutors and Trial Judges

handle is hein.journals/tlr50 and id is 651 raw text is: TEXAS LAW REVIEW VOLUME 50 A.RIL 1972 NUMBER 4 COURTROOM MISCONDUCT BY PROSECUTORS AND TRIAL JUDGES ALBERT W. ALSCHULER* As courtroom disruption became a national issue in the late 1960's, public attention focused primarily on the conduct of the criminal defense attorney and his client. Professor Alschu- ler examines the courtroom misconduct of prosecutors and trial judges both as it relates to disruptive behavior by defen- dants and defense attorneys and as it poses a threat in its own right to the orderly administration of justice. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. TaE PRosEC oR ......................................................... 630 A. The Frequency and Significance of Prosecutorial Misconduct ............................................ 630 B. Efforts to Define Prosecutorial Misconduct ............................ 633 C. Remedies for Prosecutorial Misconduct ............................... 644 1. The Uses and Limitations of Appellate Reversal ................. 644 2. The Requirement of Objection and Remedies Available in the Trial Court ................................... 648 3. Provocation by the Defense Attorney ............................ 656 4. The Harmless Error Doctrine .................................. 658 5. Civil Actions for Damages ...................................... 668 6. Discipline by the Legal Profession ............................... 670 7. Punishment for Contempt of Court ............................ 673 8. Long-Range Structural Reform ................................. 676 II. T E TUAL Ju ,E ........................................................ 677 A. Introduction: The Trial Judge As Traffic Cop ........................ 677 B. Remedies for Judicial Misconduct .................................... 685 1. Appellate Review .............................................. 685 2. The Statutory Challenge ....................................... 692 3. Civil Lawsuits ................................................. 694 4. Professional Discipline ......................................... 695 5. Impeachment and Other Traditional Mechanisms for Removing A Judge from Office .............................. 695 6. Modern Disciplinary Procedures ................................ 701 (a) Composition of Disciplinary Tribunals ..................... 711 (b) The Commission Staff .................................... 711 (c) The Problem of Confidentiality ........................... 712 Professor of Law, University of Texas. A.B., Harvard, 1962; LL.B., 1965. This article is based on a report that Professor Alschuler prepared for the Special Committee on Courtroom Conduct of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. The Special Committee, chaired by Dean Burke Marshall and directed by Professor Norman Dorsen, has undertaken a wide-ranging study of courtroom misconduct. Its final report will be published by Pantheon Books in 1973.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most