I’ve been following the Nancy Grace case with much distress. For those who haven’t been following the incident, Nancy Grace, the host of a epononymously-titled legal show on CNN and CourtTV, was recently chastised by the 11th Circuit as having "played fast and loose" with her ethical duties as a Fulton County, Georgia prosecutor in 1990. See Stephens v. Hall, No. 03-15251 (11th Cir., May 2, 2005).
On her Court TV biography page, Grace lists her perfect record of nearly 100 felony convictions at trial and no losses. This record is slightly less impressive, however, when you review the 11th Circuit’s decision, which, while upholding the conviction, criticizes Grace for failing to follow her obligation to disclose information about other potential suspects to defense counsel, as well as knowingly using a detective’s false testimony that there were no other suspects. And this wasn’t the first time Grace was criticized for her unethical behavior as a prosecutor. In 1997, the Georgia Supreme Court called her improper summations and her withholding evidence from the defense "inexcusable." Carr v. State, 267 Ga. 701 (1997). And in 1995, the same court reversed one of Grace’s convictions because she "exceeded the wide latitude of closing argument" by referring to the defendant’s prior convictions, which were not relevant to the case. Bell v. State, 263 Ga. 776 (1994).
I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that achieving victory for your client, whether complainant or defendant, must be done ethically. In Stephens, Grace failed to follow her basic ethical obligations to disclose relevant information to the defense. This was not just a mistake on Grace’s part, but a purposeful and egregious tactic done to ensure a conviction.
Grace is completely unapologetic about her actions, saying only that the case was one of 100 that she successfully prosecuted. This attitude is completely unacceptable, however. The defendant in this case was denied a fair trial due to the trickery and deceit of a state actor, which is bad enough. But to have that state actor now star on her own legal talk show and suffer no consequences? I am hardly the first to suggest this, but let me add my name to those calling for Grace’s resignation from CNN.
Any lawyer can make mistakes or ethical violations in the heat of trial, but Grace’s systemic abuse of her power as a prosecutor brings shame on the profession. That we are currently rewarding her with national television exposure is distasteful. If she does not resign on her own accord, then CNN should take action and remove her itself.
Laura I Appleman