Police Misconduct

Allegations of police misconduct are referred to attorneys general most often because of a perceived conflict because the district attorneys work with closely local police officers who always witnesses on other pending cases. Attorneys general also have a broader perspective and are therefore able to develop develop expertise in handling police cases and create statewide uniform standards. Further, from the perspective of public confidence, it is often best to have the prosecutor be from outside any local district.

The issue of who will investigate allegations of police misconduct is not new. Indeed many attorneys general have handled these cases for many years, but for other states it is new. While there are disagreements on this policy, the national trend is to expand the role of attorneys general in dealing with allegations over the use of excessive force by police officers.

Note: Links to the readings below open in this window/tab in H20 Casebook. Use your browser’s “back” button to return to the syllabus.

Opinions

All State Attorneys General have the authority to issue formal opinions. They provide advice on issues large and small to government actors, from municipalities up to the Governor and are widely disseminated to the public. This section reviews that authority, and the factors that go into when, and when not, to issue an Attorney General opinion. The Chapter includes a series of a rapid-fire hypotheticals in which class members will be asked to vote on whether or not an opinion should issue.

Note: Links to the readings below open in this window/tab in H20 Casebook. Use your browser’s “back” button to return to the syllabus.