Brief for Amici Curiae [National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Innocence Project, American Civil Liberties Union, New York Civil Liberties Union, New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Legal Aid Society, Bronx Defenders, Center for Appellate Litigation, Office of the Appellate Defender, and Chief Defenders Association of New York] in Support of Respondent

Argument: A prosecutor may not withhold knowledge from the defense of circumstantial evidence from which a jury might reasonably infer that a prosecution witness has a motive to lie simply because the prosecutor believes such a determination would be ‘false,’ nor may it excuse its error years later by citing evidence that also was never presented or vetted at the trial. Evidence of motive must be disclosed so that defense counsel can investigate and present that evidence and the jury—as opposed to the prosecutor—may determine its significance. The people should not be permitted to rely upon information they never used at trial to defeat the materiality of defense-favorable evidence they suppressed.