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Article
Without Charge: Assessing the Due Process Rights of Unindicted Co-Conspirators
Federal Courts Law Review (2004)
  • Ira P Robbins
Abstract
The grand jury practice of naming individuals as unindicted co-conspirators routinely results in injury to reputations,lost employment opportunities, and a practical inability to run for public office. Yet, because these individuals are not parties to a criminal trial, they have neither the right to present evidence nor
the opportunity to clear their names. Thus, Professor Robbins argues that the practice violates the Fifth Amendment guarantee that “[n]o person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law[.]” While prosecutors may offer many justifications to support the practice of naming
unindicted co-conspirators, these reasons do not withstand careful scrutiny. Legitimate governmental objectives can be met in other ways. Professor Robbins concludes that Congress should breathe life into the traditional “shielding” function of federal grand juries and prohibit the use of unindicted co-conspirators'
Keywords
  • Unindicted Co-Conspiritors,
  • Criminal Law,
  • Criminal Procedure,
  • Constitutional Law,
  • Due Process,
  • Fifty Amendment
Publication Date
2004
Citation Information
Ira P Robbins. "Without Charge: Assessing the Due Process Rights of Unindicted Co-Conspirators" Federal Courts Law Review Vol. 2004 (2004) p. 1 - 26 ISSN: 1936-2471
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/ira_robbins/34/