My question is, can a prosecutor interfere with a court order?

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I was arrested several months ago. I was released from custody on bail and ordered to be put on a monitor. The order was signed by the judge, the prosecutor, my attorney and myself. I then posted bail. After I posted bail the prosecutor started contacting all of the monitor companies in an attempt to talk them out of setting me up on a monitor. I ended up finding a monitor company a long ways away, one the prosecutor over looked. This cost me a considerable amount of money and a few extra weeks in jail. I believe this in iterfering with a court order. I believe this action is Illegal. I would like to know what I can do about this. And yes I have several witnesses to prove the prosecutor did do this. I realize most attorneys believe prosecutors are God like and do no wrong.

Attorney Answers

2
Amanda Lee ·
No lawyer should engage in conduct that directly interferes with a court order. It is unclear, though, whether the prosecutor's conduct here directly interfered with the order or violated the ethical rules in some other way. The ethics rules require prosecutors to refrain from making statements outside of court (such as to the news media) that would "have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused." But the rule does not prevent prosecutors from making statements outside of court that are "necessary to inform the public of the nature and extent of the prosecutor's action and that serve a legitimate law enforcement purpose." Also, lawyers are allowed to make statements outside of court to warn of "danger concerning the behavior of a person involved, when there is reason to believe that there exists the likelihood of substantial harm to an individual or to the public interest." In other words, a prosecutor is ethically permitted to warn the public that a specific criminal defendant may be a dangerous. Usually, these issues arise in the context of prosecutors making statements to the press that interfere with a defendant's right to have an impartial and unbiased jury at his trial. It is unethical for a prosecutor to release factual allegations before a criminal trial in such a way that people who watch or read the news will prejudge the case. That's not the same as what you have described. Statements just to the monitoring companies probably would not deprive you of an impartial jury. In your situation, the prosecutor may have decided that contacting the monitors and providing them information about you or your case was legitimate and in the public interest. If the statements made by prosecutor were basically accurate, then the bar association is more likely to see this as a matter of a judgment call. However, If the statements made by the prosecutor were flat-out false, or if the prosecutor simply wanted to harass you and make it harder to hire a monitor, then the bar association might find a violation. There are other issues you should think about, however, in my view, because even if what the prosecutor did violate the ethics rules, it very likely won't make a difference in your criminal case. You might want to talk to your lawyer about this further, to find out why your lawyer is not interested in pursuing the issue. Also, your lawyer may have insight on whether the judge should be advised of the prosecutor's actions. While it may seem to you that attorneys are simply afraid of prosecutors or overly respectful of them, there might be a genuine reason to put this issue aside until your case is resolved. Also, it is important to not lose sight of the larger picture, which is that you are facing criminal charges of some kind. Before you do anything in response to the prosecutor's actions, you should probably make sure that responding or taking some action cannot backfire and harm your own interests or your case. Only you, working with your lawyer, can evaluate whether there is a risk that pursuing action against the prosecutor will end up having an adverse impact on your case.
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Robert Daniel KellyPersonal Injury LawyerSeattle, WA ·
Your statement raises the question of why he would do that. It does not appear to comprise a violation of any statute or rule, but if it is fundamentally unjust, perhaps your criminal defense attorney can bring it to the attention of the court by way of a motion and seek a remedy.
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