A Kern County judge dismissed the charges against the defendant because of Murray's lie. The state appealed the dismissal, but the California Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's ruling, stating that Murray "clearly engaged in egregious misconduct that prejudiced the defendant's constitutional right to counsel." The California State Bar filed disciplinary charges against Murray and prosecuted them in State Bar Court in late August. A State Bar representative confirmed that there is an open case regarding his actions, and expects to make a decision around December 16.

If ever there was prosecutorial misconduct, this seems to fit the bill: Altering records, creating evidence, and lying about a confession. Courts have twice agreed that his behavior was outrageous. The California State Bar is thinking about disbarment. And let's say, for the sake of argument, that the defendant was guilty of child molestation. Because of Robert Murray, he now walks free.

But thus far there has been no real punishment for Murray. Defendants are still at the mercy of a man who brazenly invented a confession.

The Kern County District Attorney's Office was unwilling to comment on the incident and hesitant to confirm his employment at all. Three employees refused to answer the question, and I was transferred three times before someone confirmed that Murray was still a Deputy District Attorney in the office.

The standards for prosecutorial conduct must be higher. California has recently signed a new bill that is meant to address rampant misconduct, but it is not enough. The defendant is not even eligible for civil damages. From USA Today:



Prosecutors are also immune from civil suit, under a Supreme Court-created doctrine called "absolute immunity" that is one of the greatest, though least discussed, examples of judicial activism in history. So prosecutors won't punish prosecutors, and victims of prosecutors' wrongdoing can't even sue them for damages.

This case continues to be a stain on the Kern County District Attorney's office, largely because they have chosen to side with Murray instead of demanding integrity and establishing high standards for their employees.

There must be punishment for sabotaging a case and potentially putting a man in jail for the rest of his life based on false evidence.

We will be following the California State Bar's decision regarding Murray's potential disbarment.