Bruce A. Green and Rebecca Roiphe. “Under Political Pressure: How Courts and Congress Can Help Prosecutors Seek Justice.” Yale Law Journal Forum 135 (2025). https://yalelawjournal.org/essay/under-political-pressure-how-courts-and-congress-can-help-prosecutors-seek-justice.

Recently, federal prosecutors have faced a stark choice: follow the orders of their supervisors or abide by what they consider to be their obligation to the public to seek justice. Political appointees within the Department of Justice have the incentive to appease elected officials, and politicians have sought to use the immense power of criminal prosecution for partisan political ends. This Essay argues that the norms and traditions of prosecution, including the prohibition on considering such political goals in making charging decisions, are legal obligations inherent in prosecutors’ fiduciary duties of care and loyalty. Prosecutors are expected to uphold these obligations on their own, but they are, nonetheless, at risk. The Essay analyzes how Congress and federal courts can help sustain these legal duties without overstepping separation-of-powers limitations.