Legislative Victories
Texas passed the Michael Morton Act, SB1611. On May 16, Governor Rick Perry signed the Michael Morton Act into law. See bill analysis here. The act requires prosecutors to hand over all exculpatory evidence to the defense.
Louisiana passed HB371, An Act Relative to Discovery Reform. See engrossed bill here
Brady v. Maryland
The Supreme Court's holding in Brady v. Maryland requires the prosecutor to disclose to the defense all information favorable to the accused, pertaining to either the determination of guilt or imposition of sentencing. As many commentators have observed, the rule of Brady is simply not the rule in our courts. The resulting injustice - as evidenced by persistent claims and findings of the suppression of favorable information and actual wrongful convictions - calls for real change. NACDL supports codification of the prosecution’s obligation to provide discovery to the defense of all information favorable to the accused.
INTERVIEW WITH STEVENS’ COUNSEL
NACDL held a live webcast interview with the late Senator Ted Stevens’ attorney Robert M. Cary, of Williams & Connolly LLP, who discussed the ramifications of the case and the investigation, and the future of federal discovery reform.
News Conference - Introduction of the Fairness in Disclosure of Evidence Act
Federal Reform Legislation
America Needs Sensible Discovery Reform
Reform Proposals
Reports
Academic Articles
- Janet Moore, Democracy and Criminal Discovery Reform After Connick and Garcetti, Brooklyn Law Review Vol. 77 No.4 (Summer 2012)
- Ellen Yaroshefsky, New Orleans Prosecutorial Disclosure in Practice After Connick v. Thompson, The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics Vol. 25:913
- Joel B. Rudin, The Supreme Court Assumes Errant Prosecutors Will Be Disciplined by Their Offices or the Bar: Three Case Studies that Prove that Assumption Wrong, 80 Fordham L. Rev. 537 (2011)
- Cardozo Law Review, New Perspectives on Brady and Other Disclosure Obligations: What Really Works?, Vol. 31 No. 6 (June 2010)
- Daniel S. Medwed, Brady’s Bunch of Flaws, 67 WASH. & LEE L. REV. 1533 (2010)
- Robert P. Mosteller, Exculpatory Evidence, Ethics, and the Road to the Disbarment of Mike Nifong: The Critical Importance of Full Open-File Discovery (2008)
- Jenny Roberts, Too Little, Too Late: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, The Duty to Investigate, And Pretrial Discovery in Criminal Cases, 31 Fordham Urb. L.J. 1097 (2003-2004)
Department of Justice Policies
- "Federal Discovery Reform: DOJ's Baby Steps are Inadequate," by Norman Reimer, The Champion, March 2010.
- "New DOJ Discovery Policies Fall Short," White Collar Crime Prof Blog, January 5, 2010.
- "‘Brady’ Obligations: Codification and Clarification," by Elkan Abramowitz and Barry Bohrer, New York Law Journal, September 6, 2011.
- “Issuance of Guidance and Summary of Actions Taken in Response to the Report of the Department of Justice Criminal Discovery and Case Management Working Group," January 4, 2010.
- “Requirement for Office Discovery Policies in Criminal Matters,” January 4, 2010.
- DOJ Guidance for Prosecutors Regarding Criminal Discovery, January 4, 2010
Open-File Discovery Laws