Rule 3.8 Special Responsibilities
of a Prosecutor
The prosecutor in a criminal case shall:
(a) refrain from prosecuting a charge that the prosecutor knows is not
supported by probable cause;
(b) make reasonable efforts to assure that the accused has been advised
of the right to, and the procedure for obtaining, counsel and has been
given reasonable opportunity to obtain counsel;
(c) not seek to obtain from an unrepresented accused a waiver of
important pretrial rights, such as the right to a preliminary hearing;
(d)
make timely disclosure to the defense of all evidence or information
known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt of the accused or
mitigates the offense, and, in connection with sentencing, disclose to
the defense and to the tribunal all unprivileged mitigating information
known to the prosecutor, except when the prosecutor is relieved of this
responsibility by a protective order of the tribunal;
(e) not subpoena a lawyer in a grand jury or other criminal proceeding
to present evidence about a past or present client unless the prosecutor
reasonably believes:
(1) the information sought is not
protected from disclosure by any applicable privilege;
(2) the evidence sought is
essential to the successful completion of an ongoing investigation or
prosecution; and
(3) there is no
other feasible alternative to obtain the information;
(f)
except for statements 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, refrain from making extrajudicial comments that
have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the
accused and exercise reasonable care to prevent investigators, law
enforcement personnel, employees or other persons assisting or
associated with the prosecutor in a criminal case from making an
extrajudicial statement that the prosecutor would be prohibited from
making under Rule 3.6 or this Rule.
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