A 2010 report by the Northern California Innocence Project cited 707 cases in which state courts found prosecutorial misconduct over 11 years. Only six of the prosecutors were disciplined, and the courts upheld 80% of the convictions in spite of the improprieties, the study found.

Judge Alex Kozinski, seen in 2009, warned that a pattern of prosecutorial misconduct in California courts will continue “because they have state judges who are willing to look the other way.” (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)