This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Thursday, September 4th, 2014.

I'm Caleb Brown.

In licensed to lie, attorney Sidney Powell takes readers through a series of disturbing events,

missteps, and cover-ups in our federal criminal justice system.

According to Powell, the malfeasance stretches across all three branches of government, she spoke at the Cato Institute in July.

The main premise underlying the book is that prosecutors have an ethical and legal and constitutional obligation

to disclose evidence that is favorable to the defense.

There are legal reasons for it.

The Supreme Court held in Brady versus Maryland

that it's a constitutional obligation

fundamental to due process.

And then as a practical matter, prosecutors

have all the cards.

They are the, usually the, or their representatives,

the agents, the police officers, whoever,

are the first people on the scene

if there is an immediate crime, or they're the ones that who have conducted. the put together all the pieces to charge a crime.

They have control of the evidence.

They have control of the forensics.

They have control of the expert witnesses.

And in the cases discussed in the book,

they had even more control than that.

...