Kamala Harris' failure at 'prosecutor 101' basics led to hundreds of drug convictions being tossed out: expert

Vice President Kamala Harris dismissed hundreds of cause convictions and cases erstwhile she served arsenic San Francisco territory lawyer amid an grounds laboratory ungraded involving cocaine usage that rocked her office.

Ahead of her tally for the White House, Harris' territory attorney's bureau was deed by a ungraded successful 2010 involving a laboratory technician with a transgression inheritance who allegedly took cocaine location from the grounds laboratory and perchance tainted hundreds of different cases. The ungraded unfolded arsenic Harris deed the run way to go the Golden State’s lawyer general. 

The laboratory tech had reportedly go unreliable astatine enactment successful the weeks starring up to the alleged cocaine theft, with the DA’s lead cause authoritative sounding the alarm successful a 2009 email to a colleague, stating the laboratory tech had go "increasingly UNDEPENDABLE for testimony" and that the concern astatine the laboratory was "ridiculous" and jeopardized cause cases, SF Gate reported astatine the time. Lab techs often testified erstwhile San Francisco prosecutors headed to court. 

The contented that plagued Harris’ bureau was that the DA squad did not pass defence attorneys of the issues involving the technician and cocaine. Since the Supreme Court’s 1963 ruling in Brady v. Maryland, prosecutors person been required to crook implicit grounds that could exonerate suspects.

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Then-District Attorney Kamala Harris is seen successful this April 2004 record photo. (Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

In Harris’ office, however, the squad had nary written process connected however to grip "Brady material" oregon "Brady implications," sparking a ungraded that dragged retired for months successful 2010. Harris said amid the ungraded that she was not made alert of concerns surrounding the cause laboratory and the technician until February 2010, months aft pb cause authoritative Sharon Woo sent an email successful November to a workfellow outlining the "ridiculous" authorities of the lab, SF Gate reported. 

Harris is presently moving for the White House against erstwhile President Donald Trump, and she has heavy relied connected her inheritance arsenic a instrumentality and bid campaigner portion citing her years arsenic a authoritative successful Alameda County, San Francisco and arsenic lawyer wide of the state. 

Fox News Digital spoke to Heritage Foundation elder ineligible chap Zack Smith, a former assistant United States attorney, who precocious published a study connected Harris’ "pro-crime policies" that highlighted the 2010 DA scandal. 

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"I deliberation it shows incompetence by Kamala Harris arsenic territory attorney. This is the basal blocking onslaught that is expected of a DA is to marque definite that the rights of transgression defendants are being protected and that the assemblage is being kept safe. And she failed astatine some of those basal tasks," Smith told Fox News Digital.

Smith explained that informing defence attorneys astir issues successful the laboratory and perchance tainted grounds is "prosecutor 101," noting that Harris had already served arsenic DA for astir six years and inactive did not person a Brady argumentation successful place. 

"This is simply a big, large deal. It's benignant of each prosecutor's nightmare scenario, is getting tagged with a Brady violation, due to the fact that not lone does it enactment your lawsuit successful jeopardy, but you're besides fundamentally being accused of committing an ethical and law usurpation arsenic well," helium said. 

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris speaks to supporters earlier a No connected K property league Oct. 29, 2008 successful San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

"I can't stress enough, this is authoritative 101, it's the basal blocking onslaught that immoderate territory lawyer is going to beryllium required to do. And truthful the information that Kamala Harris, astatine that point, had been successful bureau for a fig of years that she didn't person a argumentation successful spot to woody with to woody with this benignant of concern is astounding."

Harris attempted to walk blasted for the contented connected the constabulary department, which oversaw the lab, and initially said lone astir 20 cases would beryllium affected. The DA’s bureau yet dismissed 600-1,000 cause cases, including convictions wherever criminals were already serving their sentence, according to the Washington Post. 

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The laboratory tech, who had been convicted of a 2007 home altercation, ultimately retired successful March 2010, admitting to constabulary that she consumed drugs from the constabulary lab, according to SF Gate astatine the time. Police were alert of the woman's transgression inheritance and admitted they made a mistake not informing the DA's bureau astir her erstwhile conviction, SF Gate reported. 

The tech’s supervisor told authorities that cocaine was missing from respective cases the tech handled. The constabulary department, which was led by existent Los Angeles DA George Gascon astatine the time, unopen the laboratory down aft learning of the allegations, SF Gate reported. 

In May 2010, a superior tribunal justice excoriated Harris and enactment blasted for the ungraded squarely connected her shoulders. 

Harris "failed to disclose accusation that intelligibly should person been disclosed," Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo wrote successful a determination successful 2010. 

San Francisco is known arsenic a wide metropolis to astir of America. (iStock)

Amid the scandal, cause suspects called connected the justice to disregard their cases, sparking the DA’s top narcotics prosecutor, Woo, to attest earlier the tribunal to reply questions surrounding the handling of grounds and the cause cases. Woo testified that the DA’s bureau had nary written guidelines connected however to grip Brady worldly and that Harris relied connected the constabulary section to fto her cognize erstwhile grounds was exculpatory, the Washington Post reported successful 2019. 

A tribunal transcript betwixt Woo and Massullo showed the justice was shocked. 

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"It’s not the constabulary section who has the affirmative obligation. It’s the territory attorney. That’s who the courts look to. That’s who the assemblage looks to, to marque definite each of that accusation constitutionally required is provided to the defense. . . . What I americium gathering from what you are saying is that determination is nary ceremonial mode for your office."

"In presumption of a written policy, I don’t deliberation there’s a written policy," Woo responded. 

Kamala Harris successful a photograph from erstwhile she was San Francisco territory attorney. (Christina Koci Hernandze/SF Chronicle for Getty Images)

After dismissing an estimated 1,000 cause cases and convictions surrounding the scandal, Harris was elected California lawyer wide during the 2010 predetermination cycle. She parted with the DA’s bureau successful January 2011, erstwhile she was sworn successful arsenic the state’s apical cop. 

In 2019, erstwhile Harris unsuccessfully launched a run for president earlier becoming President Biden’s moving mate, she took ownership of the scandal. 

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"No excuses," Harris told the Washington Post. "The subordinate stops with me."

When asked wherefore she had not implemented a Brady argumentation crossed her six-year tenure successful the office, Harris said she had worked to instrumentality it for astir 2 years but did not implicit the guidelines implicit complications regarding constabulary unit information, according to the outlet. 

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"I cared a batch astir moving retired a Brady policy. … I was saying successful my office, we person to person one. It was a large controversy," she told WaPo. "We were moving connected this, and it was overmuch excessively slow. It took excessively long." 

Fox News Digital reached retired to the run for further remark connected the matter. 

Harris' bureau did instrumentality a Brady argumentation pursuing the scandal, which she said was subsequently lauded arsenic "a model" for different territory attorneys. 

"It took excessively agelong to implement, but I americium arrogant we implemented a Brady argumentation successful the D.A.’s bureau that was aboriginal called ‘a exemplary for different jurisdictions’" by the California Supreme Court, Harris said successful a remark to the Wall Street Journal successful 2019. 

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