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Qualifying Prosecutorial Immunity Through Brady Claims, Paul Heaton, Brian M. Murray, Jon B. Gould
Qualifying Prosecutorial Immunity Through Brady Claims, Paul Heaton, Brian M. Murray, Jon B. Gould
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This Article considers the soundness of the doctrine of absolute immunity as it relates to Brady violations. While absolute immunity serves to protect prosecutors from civil liability for good-faith efforts to act appropriately in their official capacity, current immunity doctrine also creates a potentially large class of injury victims—those who are subjected to wrongful imprisonment due to Brady violations—with no access to justice. Moreover, by removing prosecutors from the incentive-shaping forces of the tort system that are thought in other contexts to promote safety, absolute immunity doctrine may under-incentivize prosecutorial compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements and increase criminal justice …