John Thompson spent 14 years on death row (and 18 total years in prison) for a crime he didn't commit, because the prosecutors in the district attorney's office that convicted him illegally failed to turn over exculpatory evidence. It may seem obvious that the office responsible for this gross denial of due process should be held accountable, and a jury did just that, awarding Thompson $14 million.
But if you think that this verdict would actually be upheld, you haven't reckoned with the modern Republican Party, for whom accountability for crimes (actual or alleged) is only for the powerless. Yesterday, a bare 5 to 4 majority of the Court held that the DA's office was not liable for the violations of Thompson's rights. They did so despite evidence that disregard for constitutional disclosure requirements was not an isolated incident but was pervasive with the New Orleans DA's office (in dissent, Justice Ginsburg notes, among other things, that Thompson demonstrated that "no fewer than five prosecutors ... disregarded his Brady rights.")
For the reasons that Ginsburg's dissent explains eloquently, this is a terrible decision that gives prosecutors no incentive to respect the constitutional rights of defendants without adequate justification. Thompson has been subjected to a grave injustice for a second time thanks to the Roberts Court.
