CREW Calls on DOJ Inspector General to Investigate Department’s Systemic Supervision and Training Issues in Wake of Blackwater Decision

Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked Department of Justice Inspector General Glenn Fine to investigate the Criminal Division’s inadequate training and supervision of line attorneys. CREW based its request on the December 31, 2009 dismissal of the indictments of four Blackwater security guards after their constitutional rights had been violated by prosecutors, as well as the decision of the United States to drop all charges against former Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) after prosecutors failed to disclose evidence.

In the Blackwater case, Judge Ricardo Urbina was forced to dismiss all charges against Blackwater security guards for their role in a massacre that left 14 dead and 20 others wounded. The court found government lawyers improperly relied on the compelled statements of the defendants in pursuing the case. The worst example was using immunized testimony to obtain a warrant to search email accounts to obtain drafts of the defendants’ compelled written statements. This could not have been done without the sign-off of at least one supervisor.

In April 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder asked a court to dismiss the indictment of former Senator Ted Stevens although a jury already had found him guilty because government prosecutors unconstitutionally had failed to provide the defense with notes of an interview with a key witness.

Although the Office of Professional Responsibility is reviewing the conduct of the prosecutors in the Stevens case, and is likely also investigating that of the Blackwater prosecutors, CREW explained that the IG should investigate because the cases suggest a bigger problem: overall poor supervision and case management and inadequate training. CREW also pointed to two other high profile cases: the search of former Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-LA) Capitol Hill office and the initial indictment of former Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ), in which prosecutors violated the Speech or Debate Clause of the constitution.

CREW’s Executive Director Melanie Sloan stated, “The fact that prosecutors have bungled such well-publicized matters – where you’d think everyone would be at the top of their game – suggests misconduct, ineptitude and insufficient training may be rampant in less visible matters where defendants are not represented by elite criminal defense lawyers, who have the tools necessary to expose these deficiencies.” Sloan continued, “All Americans lose when those charged with grave offenses escape prosecution not because of their innocence, but because the Department of Justice has failed to properly train and supervise its lawyers. An investigation by the IG and recommendations for systemic reform would help restore public confidence in the department.”

Click here to read CREW’s letter to Inspector General Glenn Fine. Click here to read Judge Urbina’s December 31, 2009 opinion.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Matt Jacob at 202.408.5565 or mjacob@citizensforethics.org.