Prosecutorial Ethics and the Right to a Fair Trial: The Role of the Brady Rule

January 26, 2007
Presented by the Case Western Reserve Law Review

In Brady v. Maryland (1963), the United States Supreme Court held that a defendant's due process rights preclude a prosecutor from suppressing material evidence favorable to the defendant. Since the Court's ruling, the Brady rule has shaped the boundaries of a defendant's right to a fair trial and defined the standards of justice in the criminal system. The Case Western Reserve Law Review Symposium will explore the role of the Brady rule in various elements of a criminal case, including plea negotiations, scientific evidence and capital sentencing. Participants will also discuss the Brady rule's impact on prosecutorial ethics in the current justice system. Please join us as many of the country's leading experts examine the issues that are critical for maintaining each citizen's right to a fair and just trial.

Session 1 Speakers:

Professor Lewis R. Katz, John C. Hutchins Professor; Director of the Master of Laws in U.S. and Global Legal Studies Program
Professor Kevin C. McMunigal, Judge Ben C. Green Professor, Case School of Law
Professor John G. Douglass, Professor of Law, University of Richmond School of Law
Scott Roger Hurley, Public Defender, Cuyahoga County Public Defender Office

Session 2 Speakers:

Professor Paul C. Giannelli, Albert J. Weatherhead III and Richard W. Weatherhead Professor, Case School of Law
Professor Peter A. Joy, Professor of Law and Director of the Criminal Justice Clinic, Washington University in St. Louis School of Law
Jonathan Leiken, Associate, Corporate Criminal Investigations Practice, Jones Day, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Case School of Law

Session 3 Speaker:

Barry Scheck, is a Professor of Law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City, where he has served for more than twenty-seven years, and is the Co-Director of the Innocence Project. He is Emeritus Director of Clinical Education, Co-Director of the Trial Advocacy Programs, and the Jacob Burns Center for the Study of Law and Ethics.

Session 4 Speakers:

Professor Bennett L. Gershman, Professor of Law, Pace Law School
Professor Michael Benza, Distinguished Practitioner of Law and Adjunct Professor, Case School of Law, The Law Office of Michael J. Benza, Inc.
Professor Alafair S. Burke, Associate Professor of Law, Hofstra University School of Law
John Q. Lewis, Partner, Jones Day, Cleveland