Milwaukee County Brady has defects. This is what you should know

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For more than 25 years, the Milwaukee County District Prosecutor’s Office has maintained a list of law agents who have been accused of dishonesty, prejudices or crimes.

Often known as the “Brady list”, it is intended to help prosecutors to fulfill their legal obligation to deliver evidence that could help the defendants.

But an articulation Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin Watch and TMJ4 News Research He discovered that the list is inconsistent and incomplete, asking questions about how useful it is in practice.

This is what you should know about Brady’s lists.

What is a Brady list?

Brady’s list is a compilation of officials responsible for enforcing the law that have been accused of lying, violating the law or acting in a way that erodes their credibility to witness. Sometimes it is also known as the list of not calling or the Brady/Giglio list.

The name comes from the case of the United States Supreme Court of 1963 Brady v. Maryland, who ruled that prosecutors cannot retain material that can help defense in the trial.

What kind of behavior takes you to Brady’s list?

The type of misconduct that an agent of the law can get on the Brady list is broad, from violent crimes to labor problems. An officer does not have to be convicted of a crime or even accused of a crime to be placed on the list.

Of the names on the Brady list of Milwaukee County, most involve criminal cases. Approximately a quarter involve internal investigations.

Crimes range from crimes such as domestic violence or drunk driving to integrity problems such as falsifying police documents or deceiving police training evidence.

How does the District prosecutor find out about Brady’s possible material?

The district prosecutor’s office is responsible for prosecuting crimes. If an agent of the law is sent for possible criminal charges, prosecutors would know because they make collection decisions.

But if an officer faces internal violation and not a criminal position, it depends on the agency to apply the law of the officer to inform the information to the prosecutors, according to the Milwaukee County District, Kent Lovern.

Have the police officers write policies to tell prosecutors about Brady’s material?

Not all of them.

The media organizations sent records of records to 23 agencies of application of the law in the county requesting any policy that governs how to handle Brady’s material.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff and six other agencies provided a written policy. The Milwaukee Police Department and eight other agencies in the county said they do not have a written policy.

The remaining agencies did not respond or the application remains pending.

If an officer is on Brady’s list, does that mean that he can’t testify?

No. Being on the list only means that prosecutors have to reveal the history of that officer to the defense. If defense lawyers wish, they can pose the credibility problems of the officer with the judge.

At that time, it depends on the judge to decide if the officer is credible enough to testify.

In rare cases, the district prosecutor’s office has determined that an officer could never be trusted to testify. Luberna said that it has only happened two or three times in the last 18 years, and those officers are no longer employed as forces of the order.

If an officer puts on Brady’s list, can they remain in force?

Yes. The fact that an officer of the law is on the list does not mean that they are necessarily prohibited from testifying. That means that they can still be useful as police officers, authorities say.

Milwaukee police chief Jeffrey Norman, and Milwaukee County Sheriff, Denita Ball, say they carefully consider the facts and severity of each case before deciding whether to keep an officer by force.

Where can I find Wisconsin’s Brady list?

In Wisconsin, there is not a single Brady list. The offices of the district prosecutor in each county are responsible for maintaining their own lists.

But there is no consistency in how Prosecutors in Wisconsin keep Brady lists. In an investigation last year, Wisconsin Watch Peturns of records presented before prosecutors in each of the 72 state counties. Many denied the request for records or said they did not follow up. The counties that responded revealed a list of about 360 names.

How many people are on the Brady list of Milwaukee County?

You can find the Brady list of Milwaukee County here.

Almost 200 agents of the current and previous law are on the list, which dates back to about 25 years. Some are accused of multiple crimes. Of those who are on the list, most are from the Milwaukee Police Department, but almost all suburban police department are represented.