NCDA Announces National Center for Prosecution Ethics

By Laura McKechnie

The National College of District Attorneys along with the University of South Carolina School of Law recently created the National Center for Prosecution Ethics, which will be dedicated to the promotion of ethical standards for prosecutors nationwide.

Isolated instances of misconduct in the use of prosecutorial discretion have received exaggerated attention from the courts and the news media has skewed public perception of the prosecutor. Because many of the rules of conduct are not applicable to prosecutors, there are few resources on ethical responsibilities available to them.

“We in the profession have a responsibility to provide access to ethical standards,” said Robert Fertitta, dean of the National College of District Attorneys.

The vision of the center, according to Dean Fertitta, is not to develop ethical standards, but to provide resources that will allow prosecutors to collect and disseminate information concerning ethical standards and guidelines as well as administrative and judicial opinions concerning the professional responsibility of prosecutors. The center will be accessible to prosecutors nationwide via the Internet.

The center will assist the University of South Carolina School of Law, the National College of District Attorneys, the National District Attorneys Association and prosecutors to design and conduct educational courses as well as develop strategies for the implementation of rules of prosecutorial ethics. The multi-disciplinary advisory board, which is made up of various prosecutorial offices as well as members of the private bar and law school faculty, will allow the center to be more objective when addressing ethical problems for prosecutors.

Annually, the center will sponsor a symposium at the National Advocacy Center that will promote professionalism and distribute information concerning the latest developments in prosecution ethics. The University of South Carolina School of Law, NCDA and NDAA will provide direction for the symposium.

Fundraising is underway through both the public and private sectors. William L. Murphy, district attorney of Staten Island, New York, and past-president of NDAA has made the first donation. The center will serve alongside the Nelson Mullins Center on Professionalism, a center recently established at the school of law to improve professionalism on the civil side of the law.