Opinion ID: 4530412
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Special Duties of a Prosecutor

Text: ¶7 The panel began its supplemental findings and conclusions by stating, “This is a case involving a prosecutor whose job it is to seek executions and a prosecution of him that was not well executed.” This statement mischaracterizes the role of a prosecutor. We could not disagree more strongly with the first part of this statement. The role of a prosecutor is not to seek convictions and sentences but rather to seek justice: [T]he prosecutor is not the representative of an ordinary litigant; he is a representative of a government whose obligation to govern fairly is as important as its obligation to govern at all. The prosecutor’s interest in a criminal prosecution “is not that it shall win a case, but that justice shall be done.” Thus, “while he may strike hard blows, he is not at liberty to strike foul ones.” It is the prosecutor’s duty to refrain from improper methods calculated to produce a wrongful conviction just as it is his duty to use all proper methods to bring about a just conviction. Pool v. Superior Court, 139 Ariz. 98, 103 (1984) (quoting Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78, 88 (1935)). 3 IN RE JUAN M. MARTINEZ Opinion of the Court ¶8 Prosecutors’ unique role in the justice system is recognized in ER 3.8, “Special Responsibilities of a Prosecutor,” which states that “[a] prosecutor has the responsibility of a minister of justice and not simply that of an advocate,” and has the duty to “see that the defendant is accorded procedural justice, that guilt is decided upon the basis of sufficient evidence, and that special precautions are taken to prevent and to rectify the conviction of innocent persons.” See also In re Peasley, 208 Ariz. 27, 35 ¶ 34 (2004) (noting that “courts generally recognize that the ethical rules impose high ethical standards on prosecutors”). Thus, prosecutors must act as “ministers of justice and exercise professionalism even in the heat of trial.” State v. Hulsey, 243 Ariz. 367, 394 ¶ 123 (2018).