Last week, we told you about a study that shows that prosecutors in California who engage in prosecutorial misconduct truly get away with it. In the posting, we quoted from the San Jose Mercury News that in Santa Clara County, home of the Silicon Valley, only one prosecutor has been held accountable for misconduct, a Mr. Ben Field.
Now comes news that Field is appealing his four-year suspension before the State Bar of California. Fortunately, the review panel grilled Field's lawyer extra well-done on Wednesday.
The Mercury News writes:
Former Santa Clara County prosecutor Ben Field on Wednesday took his fight to clear his disciplinary record to a State Bar of California appellate panel, but he ran into a tough inquiry from judges who sent strong signals they believe his four-year suspension for misconduct may not be harsh enough.
During an hourlong hearing, Field's lawyer, Allen Ruby, encountered generally hostile questioning from the three-judge appellate review panel, which is considering the former prosecutor's bid to overturn a ruling last summer that suspended his law license for four years "because he abused his prosecutorial power" in a series of cases over a decade.
At least two of the judges, Presiding Judge Joann Remke and Judge Judith Epstein, grilled State Bar prosecutor Donald Steedman on why his office didn't seek to permanently strip Field of his law license, given the argument at trial that he'd repeatedly violated ethical rules and the constitutional rights of defendants in criminal cases.
