MINNEAPOLIS — The Hennepin County Attorney's Office is already making changes in the new year, a move that comes exactly a year into Mary Moriarty's leadership.
A spokesperson for the office said in an emailed statement Wednesday that the legal requirements, also referred to as the Brady/Giglio precedents, have been implemented at the office with the intention of helping to "ensure fair trials and support conviction integrity."
Those guidelines require prosecutors to disclose to defense lawyers all of the public data about the disciplinary history of police officers who are slated to testify in criminal cases. Moriarty said the relevance of an officer's history can still be debated before the trial begins, but the new standards require all of the information is laid on the table ahead of time.
"While the law gives our office the significant power to prosecute criminal conduct and restrict freedom, the law also imposes on us significant responsibilities to ensure defendants receive fair trials," Moriarty said in a statement. "The measures we have put in place will ensure compliance with those responsibilities and will ultimately lead to greater trust in the process and respect for the outcomes of these cases."
The measures include seven initiatives that are now in established and in place, including:
- Establishing the Division of Professional Standards
- The division is responsible for internal training and monitoring criminal cases to make sure the office is fulfilling its legal requirements. - Creating a new process to disclose Brady/Giglio information that is considered non-public
- This process requires all potentially "exculpatory" evidence (i.e. evidence that could be viewed as favorable to the defense) to be disclosed by the government to the defense team prior to trial. On the flip side, prosecutors are also required to disclose "impeachment" evidence, which could potentially cast doubt on a witness. - Revising categories of conduct that could qualify as Brady/Giglio
- After conducting extensive research on case law and policies held by other prosecutorial offices, the HCAO expanded its categories of conduct. - Creating an interim Brady/Giglio process for professional witnesses
- While still interim, the process intends to ensure the HCAO obtains timely and accurate information to comply with Brady/Giglio, providing training on the process and its legal obligations that make it necessary. - Providing Brady/Giglio training for attorneys
- Attorneys will receive step-by-step instructions to help them fulfill their obligations to the office. - Hiring an attorney and paralegal to focus on Brady/Giglio compliance
- Creating a judicial orders bank
- The newly created system tracks orders related to the credibility of witnesses, the propriety of the conduct of witnesses and the county attorney’s office’s legal obligations. It also helps law enforcement stay up to date on litigation trends and helps identify areas for additional training.
“These steps are just the beginning,” Moriarty said. “We have had excellent engagement with police chiefs and city attorneys across the county throughout this process and we will continue that work. The people must have confidence in the fairness of the legal system and compliance with Brady/Giglio requirements is an important part of building that confidence.”
Since becoming Hennepin County Attorney a year ago, Moriarty has attracted the ire of some community members — including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison — for her policies about charging and prosecuting crimes committed by kids under 18.
In March, Moriarty's office detailed her approach in a memorandum.
“We are focused on accountability, treatment and healing; not punishment," the memo read, in part.
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