Texas Rules of Disciplinary Conduct 3.09
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(d) make timely disclosure to the defense of all evidence or information known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt of the accused or mitigates the offense, and, in connection with sentencing, disclose to the defense and to the tribunal all unprivileged mitigating information known to the prosecutor, except when the prosecutor is relieved of this responsibility by a protective order of the tribunal
Comment 1. A prosecutor has the responsibility to see that justice is done, and not simply to be an advocate. This responsibility carries with it a number of specific obligations. Among these is to see that no person is threatened with or subjected to the rigors of a criminal prosecution without good cause.
If every prosecutor in Texas took that responsibility seriously, and potentially faced ******* JAIL TIME for not doing so, you would see more justice for black folks.
That is something that I take VERY SERIOUSLY and I am NOT very forgiving.
This is a problem with our system country wide not just in Texas.
My daughter called me on Jan 1 a few years back. Said she had been charged with DUI. Our limit is .8. She registered a .8. My daughter has something called A1D1
Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics.
She did go to a New Years party. She said she had one drink but it was a couple hours before leaving (she knew she could call me if needed). She gets stopped. Her lung capacity is diminished. The officer did all the road side tests and tells her she passed. Just one last thing.........do the breath analyzer. Now if it was me I would have told him to bugger off as he had no probable cause. Anyway, she tried. She could not blow hard enough into it. It was real cold and she asked if she could put her jacket on. She was told no. This really made me mad as she is susceptible to pneumonia.
She explains her condition and asks to use her inhaler. She does. Still not enough. She uses it again. Still no go. He takes her to the station (which is 5 minutes away). There she uses her inhaler and inside she is able to register .8. He arrests her.
I read where you have to wait a half hour after using an inhaler and that the law states that also. She used it three times.
A lawyer wanted $1000. I said lets just go and defend ourselves and if you lose, appeal and then get the lawyer. We go.......on the stand the officer admitted she passed the manual tests. Then explains her inhaler uses. Now the judge must have been a decent judge as she came prepared. She ripped that officer a new one reading him the law. It seems she is asthmatic and uses an inhaler also.
Anyway, NOT GUILTY. Afterwards I told the judge that I appreciated her ruling. She tells me that the lawyer would have made one phone call and it would have been tossed. $1000 for one phone call. What I was really mad about was the prosecutor. They knew it was a bogus arrest. They knew they never should have prosecuted but they did.
