Absolute Immunity: A License To Rape Justice At Will

Prentice L. White, Southern University Law Center

Abstract

ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY: A LICENSE TO RAPE JUSTICE AT WILL

BY PRENTICE L. WHITE

We are all acquainted with the phrase the sanctity of marriage. We understand that the vows made by a couple at the wedding ceremony is sacrosanct, and if those vows are not taken seriously, or abused in any way, then the offending spouse will be penalized and evicted from the marital relationship.

Likewise, justice should be handled in the same manner and with the same intensity. America prides itself on having the best legal system in the world. It broadcasts to all the surrounding nations that its judges and juries are impartial and its prosecutors follow the federal constitution to the letter. Unfortunately, this is not true for many prosecutors who have decided to manipulate justice whenever they deem it convenient to do so. In this article, I have characterized these rogue prosecutors as having raped justice. They have trampled her innocence and they have permanently marred her reputation before the public without an iota of remorse. In fact, after they have done their damage they arrogantly hold up absolute immunity as their badge of justification and exoneration.

In today’s society with all the discussion about accountability, transparency and fairness, it is time for the guardians of our justice system to engage in a serious dialogue about the future of our criminal justice system. This Article not only addresses some of the common abuses that prosecutors commit in a typical criminal proceeding, but it also offers a proposal, which I believe can begin a meaningful discourse towards changing the public’s perception that justice is a hoax and that fairness in the American judicial system is nonexistent.