Anatomy Of A Prosecutorial Meltdown

There’s a lot going on here, and while we can’t necessarily say the local prosecutor is solely to blame for the governmental crisis in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, he’s certainly not making things any easier. Craig Stedman, the Lancaster DA, is embroiled in a legal scorched earth conflict against the Lancaster County Commissioners that’s become so wild it’s hard to look away from the trainwreck.

Let’s just breakdown how we got here.

• Stedman turns over documents but…: The media is less than impressed at the scope of the disclosure. Stedman claimed that the disclosure represented “the maximum we can give as allowed by law and not jeopardize public safety or investigations.” However, the newspaper points out the turned over records lack “receipts documenting what specific seized items were sold and what items were bought with the proceeds,” which seem hardly relevant to “protecting public safety” but very relevant to “covering up potential mismanagement.”

This is a criminal justice system in meltdown. Whether Stedman actually used the funds properly or not is now beside the point. His handling of the controversy has rapidly eroded any public trust in his office. At this point the battle isn’t over the propriety of the expenditures but whether or not asset forfeiture is subject to any oversight or transparency at all and once a prosecutor reaches that point, it’s probably for the best to step aside for the good of the office.

---

Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

Anatomy Of A Prosecutorial Meltdown curated from Above the Law