Document Type
Working Paper
Publication Date
2017
Abstract
The police have long relied on informants to make critical cases, and prosecutors have long relied on cooperator testimony at trials. Still, concerns about these tools for obtaining closely held information have substantially increased in recent years. Reliability concerns have loomed largest, but broader social costs have also been identified. After highlighting both the value of informants and cooperators and the pathologies associated with them, this chapter explores the external and internal measures that can or should be deployed to regulate their use.
Disciplines
Criminal Law | Criminal Procedure | Law | Law Enforcement and Corrections
Recommended Citation
Daniel C. Richman,
Informants & Cooperators,
Reforming Criminal Justice, Vol. 2 Policing, Erik Luna (Ed.), The Academy for Justice, 2017; Columbia Public Law Research Paper No. 14-543
(2017).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/2027
Included in
Criminal Law Commons, Criminal Procedure Commons, Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons