检察官的不轨行为与错案防治研究——美国的考察及其借鉴

On Procurators' Misconducts and Preventing Miscarriages of Justice——Review and Reference from the U.S

在美国,检察官的不轨行为是催生错案的重要原因,主要包括:隧道视野;法庭上的不端行为;对物证处理不当;不开示无罪证据;威胁、引诱证人或唆使证人作伪证;使用虚假或误导性证据;骚扰或对报告人或其辩护人表示成见、宿怨;以及在大陪审团程序中行为不端。究其原因,美国检察官的民选经历,使其更青睐严厉刑罚以获得民众支持;对抗制的诉讼模式刺激了检察官更强烈的胜诉欲;另外,缺乏多元和强有力的制裁也是导致检察官不轨行为滋生的重要原因。针对检察官的不轨行为,美国司法部门以起诉环节为中心从多方面规范检察官的诉讼行为,如引入检察官客观性义务,强化证据开示制度以及建立对检察官不轨行为的惩戒机制等。刑事错案是各国司法界共同面对的难题,美国司法从检察官视角的错案防治经验值得我国借鉴。

In the U. S,procurators＇ misconducts—holding tunnel vision,doing misconducts in the court,mishandling physical evidence, refusing to disclose evidence of innocence, making witness perjure by threatening,seducing or instigating, using false or misleading evidence, harassing reporters and defenders or showing feud and stereotypes to them, and misconducting in the grand jury proceeding—are the significant causes of miscarriages of justice. There are various reasons： the democratic election experience makes U. S procurators prefer severe penalties to win supports from the public,the adversary system in the U. S stokes up procurators＇ desire to win a lawsuit,and the lack of diverse and vigorous sanctions also contributes to the issue.For such misconducts of procurators,U. S judicial departments variously regulate procurators＇ behaviors while focusing on prosecution,for example,introducing obligation of justice for prosecutors,enhancing the practice of evidence discovery and setting discipline system for procurators＇ behaviors. Miscarriages of justice could be viewed as a common problem in the world, and the U. S experience of preventing such problem during the procuratorial tache is a valuable lesson for China.