Political Quotes

“I will speak now about the Due Process Protections Act, which was sponsored by myself and Senator Durbin from Illinois and which passed the U.S. Senate last night unanimously. I thank my colleagues for their support for this simple but important bill. In fact, the Due Process Protections Act is so simple that it really probably shouldn't be necessary, but believe me, it is necessary. Unfortunately, it is necessary. I was pleased that this body passed it last night. Let me explain. The due process clause of the U.S. Constitution, as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark decision, Brady v. Maryland, requires that prosecutors turn over all material evidence favorable to the defense. That is what a fair trial is about. If the prosecutor has exculpatory evidence, as we call it, you need to make sure the defense has it. This is such a bedrock element of our criminal justice system and constitutional due process that the name of this kind of evidence is simply now called ``Brady evidence'' after the case Brady v. Maryland. Now, the vast majority of Federal prosecutors--and, by the way, FBI agents--who work in our criminal justice system are patriots. Many are veterans, and they work day in and day out to keep us safe and abide by their constitutional duties and obligations. They do turn Brady evidence over to the defense, as they are required to do by the Constitution. The sad fact is, some prosecutors don't do this.…”