The U.S. Department of Justice and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals have come into conflict over misconduct by an Assistant U.S. Attorney which resulted in a mistrial, and the issue of whether prosecutors who engage in misconduct are entitled to have their names withheld from legal decisions. On the second day of the trial of defendant Aurora Avila-Lopez for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, AUSA Jerry Albert allegedly read testimony from Avila-Lopez’s earlier change of plea hearing. The statements read to the jury by Mr. Albert appeared to contradict the defendant’s earlier statements on direct examination. However, the prosecution had altered the alleged statements. The defense moved for a mistrial, which was granted.
In January, the 9th Circuit issued an opinion in which it criticized Mr. Albert’s actions and called for an investigation and possible discipline against him, according to Courthouse News. The U.S. Department of Justice took umbrage at the Court’s "name dropping," and filed a motion to have Albert’s name removed from the opinion. The 9th Circuit issued an amended opinion yesterday denying the government’s motion. In holding that the prosecutor could not remain anonymous, the Court stated "We have noticed that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona regularly makes public the names of prosecutors who do good work and win important victories. [Cit.]. If federal prosecutors receive public credit for their good works—as they should—they should not be able to hide behind the shield of anonymity when they make serious mistakes."
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