Washburn Law Journal
Editor's Note
Volume 41, No. 2 (Winter 2002)
In Issue 2 of the Washburn Law Journal we are proud to present the Honorable Robert L. Gernon's insightful article entitled Prosecutorial Misconduct in Kansas: Still Hazy After All These Years. Prosecutorial misconduct is a timely issue in Kansas, and it is relevant to attorneys not only in Kansas, but across the nation. Judge Gernon serves on the Kansas Court of Appeals; formerly, he was a prosecutor and trial judge. Judge Gernon explores the history of prosecutorial misconduct in Kansas and discusses both the role of the trial judge and the potential for professional discipline as a remedy for misconduct.
Judge Gernon's article is complemented with a thoughtful essay by Maria Collins Warren entitled Ethical Prosecution: A Philosophical Field Guide. Ms. Warren is an assistant district attorney in the fifth prosecutorial district in Wilmington, North Carolina. Ms. Warren draws on her experience as a prosecutor and explains that a prosecutor's ethical duty extends beyond the language of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and individual states' conduct codes to a duty owed directly to the People of the state.
We are pleased to present DeShaney's Legacy in Foster Care and Public School Settings by Professor Mary Kate Kearney. Professor Kearney, who teaches at Widener University School of Law, was a presenter at the 2000 Ahrens tort seminar at Washburn Law School.
Advocacy, Justice, and Prosecutorial Misconduct: The Death of the Prosecutor's Reasonable Inference on Credibility Issues, a note by third-year Washburn Law student Rebecca L. Farrell, provides another perspective on prosecutorial misconduct in Kansas. Finally, Gregory C. Graffman, Richard E. James, and Andrew Snyder, second-year Washburn Law students, each present thoughtful analysis regarding recent United States Supreme Court decisions.
J.M.H.
