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Putting state investigators on the team helps inoculate the corruption investigation from the rapidly spreading political pestilence. It will also allow for an aggressive investigation into allegations that members of the Board of Supervisors and their staffs have also engaged in political activities on the public's dime without fear of political reprisal. After all, not all of the allegations come from those in the cross hairs of local prosecutors. Former federal prosecutor John C. Hueston, hired by the county to conduct an independent investigation into the Assessor's Office, linked political activities in that office to the offices of multiple county supervisors

efrigerate them and the stains deteriorated beyond usefulness. Without forensic evidence to defend himself, Youngblood was convicted of molestation, sexual assault and kidnapping. The Arizona Court of Appeals reversed his conviction on grounds that the state had breached a duty to preserve the evidence. Then the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated his conviction. "The failure of the police to refrigerate the clothing and to perform tests on the semen L.C. JACKSON samples can at worst be described as negligent," Chief Justice William Rehn quist wrote for the majority. But because the court found "no suggestion of bad faith on the part of police, ... there was no violation" of his constitutional due-process rights, the ruling held. Three dissenting justices argued that the distinction between "good faith" and "bad faith" is "anything but bright," especially when police ineptitude deprived Youngblood of the ability to defend himself. "The Constitution requires that criminal defendants be provided with a fair trial, not merely a 'good faith' try at a fair trial," Justice Harry Blackmun wrote. Nineteen years later, defense advocates still complain that the ruling is unconstitutional Al Newton relfects on the many years he spent behind bars for a crime he never committed. He was released, after years of effort, by recent DNA testing. (Post / Helen H. Richardson)and that the hurdle of having to prove malice is nearly insurmountable.

"Prosecutors have a strong incentive to preserve their convictions to get elected or re-elected," said Hofstra University law professor Eric Freedman. "That leads to an institutional pressure to get samples destroyed while the destroying is good.

Common problem Under no circumstances should a case be considered cleared if a prosecutor determines there is not enough evidence to support charges, an FBI representative said. Even if an arrest was made. "That's a common problem with a lot of law enforcement agencies," said Darrin Moore, a Uniform Crime Report training instructor with the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services division. "They may be clearing them administratively within their department, but for UCR crime reporting, those should not be cleared or viewed as cleared offenses." In 2004, for example, records show that prosecutors turned down more than a dozen San Bernardino murder cases. Though the Police Department reported 30 clearances and 50 murders that year, charges were filed in less than 20 of the cases, according to San Bernardino County court records. Another case was cleared by the suspect's death. The disparity casts new light on the 58 percent clearance rate that San Bernardino police reported to the FBI from 2000 to 2006. In that same time, just under 50 percent of murders -- or dozens of fewer cases -- led to charges filed or met the standards for what is known as an "exceptional-means clearance." That is when enough evidence for charges exists but the suspect dies or another unforeseeable obstacle arises before prosecution can occur.