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103 Denv. L. Rev. 1 (2025-2026)

handle is hein.journals/denlr103 and id is 1 raw text is: THE PARADOX OF FEDERAL OVERSIGHT IN POLICE MISCONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS ILANA M. FRIEDMAN* ABSTRACT This Article examines the relationship between state prosecutors, federal prosecutors, and the Civil Rights Division inside the United States Department of Justice in conducting police misconduct investiga- tions and prosecutions. While previous literature documents prosecutors' enormous concentration of power, they remain an understudied popula- tion in the criminal legal system, particularly in how they investigate and prosecute police officers accused of crimes. To remedy this gap, I con- ducted over fifty interviews with prosecutors, civilian investigators, and other legal professionals working in the domain of police misconduct investigations and prosecutions in multiple field sites around the United States. This Article is one of the first to offer insights from some of the most select employees around the United States because these specific occupations are just that-uncommon, atypical, and exceptional in con- text of the potential universe of line or assistant prosecutors around the country. The interview data demonstrates that police misconduct prosecutors possess idiosyncratic and specialized skill sets. However, I find that mounting public pressure for police accountability coincides with lim- ited-prosecutorial expertise and proficiency in successfully prosecuting police misconduct around the United States. Police suspect prosecutors are not present in every jurisdiction or legal community. This sociolegal environment may encourage prosecutors with unique insights to share ideas, resources, and successful evidentiary strategies for securing in- dictments. Yet, I expose a novel paradox: experienced prosecutors may reject exogenous support because they understand it as disruptive and oppres- * Assistant Professor, J. David Rosenberg College of Law at the University of Kentucky. Thank you for the support and feedback from my advisors, including Becky Pettit, Sarah Brayne, Harel Shapira, and Issa Kohler-Hausmann. Many thanks to my colleagues at the Rosenberg College of Law for their helpful comments in preparing this Article and to the faculty at Saint Louis Univer- sity for the opportunity to workshop this Article. I am grateful to the organizers of the ABA-AALS Criminal Justice System Roundtable Workshop and in particular Deborah Denmo, Jane Mitchell, John Meixner, and India Thusi for their feedback in preparation of this manuscript. Jake Wood provided excellent research assistance. Thank you to the Editors of the Denver Law Review for their hard work in preparing this Article for publication. Without the generosity and candor of my re- search respondents, this article would not have been possible. This research was supported by fund- ing from the National Science Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the Law & Society Association. 1