Fact check: Biden alleges Harris allowed 1,000 prisoners back on the street
Biden attacked Harris' record as attorney general of California on Wednesday night with a lengthy story, earning protestations from Harris about the accuracy of his claims.
Biden suggested that Harris defied staff recommendations and failed to disclose information about law enforcement misconduct to defense attorneys. As a result, Biden said, "Along came a federal judge and said enough, enough. And he freed 1,000 of these people. If you doubt me, Google 1,000 prisoners freed, Kamala Harris," Biden said.
What Biden said is mostly true, though he muddled a few details in his telling.
As attorney general, Harris’ aides encouraged her to adopt a Brady policy in 2005 — a rule requiring prosecutors to disclose past misconduct by law enforcement witnesses — to defendants and their attorneys. According to The Wall Street Journal, she did not do so for years and came under fire when a scandal highlighted her department's lack of such a policy.
In 2010, a police crime-lab technician — with a criminal conviction that had not been disclosed to defendants and likely would have kept her away from processing drug evidence — was found to be skimming cocaine from evidence for personal use, according to The Wall Street Journal. With those lab results jeopardized and results considered tainted, roughly 1,000 cases were dismissed or dropped. A Superior Court judge blamed Harris for the fiasco and Harris reportedly scrambled to officially institute a Brady policy. So, while 1,000 "prisoners" were not released, some 1,000 cases were dismissed or dropped.
Biden did inaccurately claim that Harris never instituted a Brady policy. She did do so after the crime lab scandal.