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1 LESS RELIABLE PRELIMINARY HEARINGS AND PLEA BARGAINS IN CRIMINAL CASES IN CALIFORNIA: DISCOVERY BEFORE AND AFTER PROPOSITION 115 LAURA BEREND" TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction I. The Purpose of the Criminal Justice System and the Function of Discovery A. The Purpose of the Criminal justice System B. The Function of Discovery II. The Development of Court-Ordered Defense Discovery and the Shift in Timing from Trial to Arraignment A. The Early Denial of Court-Ordered Defense Discovery B. Court-Ordered Defense Discovery at Trial C. Court-Ordered Pretrial Defense Discovery D. Court-Ordered Preliminary Hearing and Pre- Preliminary Hearing Defense Discovery E. Court-Ordered Prosecution Discovery III. The Purpose and Nature of Proposition 115's Discovery Changes Professor of Law, the University of San Diego School of Law. I am especially grateful to Professor Cynthia Lee of the University of San Diego School of Law, and Jacqueline Crowle, Deputy Alternate Public Defender and Head of Writs and Appeals at the Department of the San Diego Alternate Public Defenders, for their invaluable suggestions for this Article as well as an earlier draft. I appreciate the constructive comments from San Diego attorneysjohn Cotsirilos and Thomas Ulovec, San Francisco Public Defender Staff Attorney Jan Lecklikner, Senior Assistant Attorney General Gary Schons of the Criminal Law Division of the California Attorney General's Office in San Diego, and Professor Linda Morton of California Western School of Law. I thank Barbara Craig, Steve Sandoval (both class of 1998), Kimberli Carroll and Janet Kelleran (both class of 1999) for their able research assistance. I wish to recognize the comments and support from San Diego attorney Steve Perello, and Professors Lynne Dallas, Jean Montoya, and Fred Zacharias of the University of San Diego School of Law, and Professor Ed Imwinkelried of the University of California at Davis School of Law, and the research assistance provided by Chris Hoffman (class of 1995), Rich Ames (class of 1996), and Janet Hollins (class of 1997) for an earlier draft.
2 466 AMERICAN UNIVERSrIY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 48:465 A. B. The Purpose of Discovery After Proposition The Nature of Discovery Under Proposition 115-A Consolidated Discovery Mechanism Tim ing changes Substantive changes IV. The Impact of Proposition 115 on the Effectiveness and Reliability of Preliminary Hearings and Plea Bargains A. Preliminary Hearings Prior to Proposition B. 2. Proposition 115's changes Plea Bargains Prior to Proposition C. 2. Proposition 115's changes The Inadequacy of Other Pretrial Sources of Information for the Defense Voluntary disclosure by the prosecution Sources of information other than the prosecution Other pretrial proceedings The defendant as a source of information D. The Redundancy of Other Pretrial Sources of Information for the Prosecution V. Proposals for Reform A. Equal and Early Access to Scientific Evidence B. Pre-Preliminary Hearing Discovery Motions C. Declaration by the Prosecution at the Entry of a Guilty Plea C onclusion INTRODUCTION On June 5, 1990, the voters of California passed Proposition 115, the Crime Victims Justice Reform Act.' The initiative implemented a broad range of statutory and constitutional changes relating to California's criminal justice system. 2 For the most part, these changes 1. State of California, Crime Victims Justice Reform Act, Initiative Measure Prop. 115 (approved June 5, 1990) (codified at CAL. CONsT. art. I, 14.1, 24, 29, 30; CAL. CIV. PROC. CODE 223, (West Supp. 1998); CAL. EviD. CODE (West 1995); CAL. PENAL CODE 189, , 190.5, 206, 206.1, 859, 866, 871.6, 872, 954.1, , , , 1054, , , , , , , , , , , 1430, 1511 (West Supp. 1998)) [hereinafter PROPOSrrION 115]. Proposition 115 was passed by nearly 57% of the voters of California. See Eric Bailey, State Propositions: The Effects in Orange County, LA TIMES,June 7, 1990, at A Among other things, Proposition 115 added discovery provisions to the California Penal Code and to the California Constitution. See CAL. PENAL CODE (West Supp. 1998); see also CAL. CONST. art. I, 30(c) (recognizing that discovery in criminal cases must be reciprocal in nature). In addition to discovery, Proposition 115 addressed a variety of substantive and procedural topics in criminal law, such as jury voir dire, speedy trials, hearsay preliminary hearings, post-indictment preliminary hearings,joinder and severance of cases, first degree and special circumstance murder, increased penalties for murder, the crime of torture, appointment of counsel, continuances, and a prohibition against interpreting the California Constitution to afford criminal defendants greater constitutional protections than those
3 1998] PROPOSION limit the procedural fights of the accused and increase the rights and discretion of the prosecution in an effort to harmonize the system with federal law. 3 By creating a statutory and reciprocal discovery scheme in anticipation of trial, Proposition 115 dramatically alters the discovery process in criminal cases 4 and may well have set a trend that other states will follow. 5 In particular, its changes to court-ordered defense discovery undermine the reliability of preliminary hearings and plea bargaining. A meaningful analysis of the effect of these discovery afforded by the U.S. Constitution. See id. 29 (providing the right to a speedy trial, due process of law, and to a public trial); id. 30(b) (allowing hearsay evidence to be admitted at preliminary hearings); id. 30(c) (mandating reciprocal discovery in criminal cases to provide for fair and speedy trials); CAL. CIV. PROC. CODE 223 (West Supp. 1998) (establishing requirements and guidelines for examination of prospective jurors by the court and by counsel); CAL. EVID. CODE (West 1995 & Supp. 1998) (disallowing the crossexamination of the declarant of hearsay evidence if the hearsay statement is offered at a preliminary examination); see also CAL. CONST. art. 1, 14.1 (indicating that no post-indictment preliminary hearing will take place if an indictment is returned on a felony case); id. (indicating that the courts may not interpret the California Constitution to prohibit the joining of criminal cases); id. 24 (limiting the interpretation of a defendant's constitutional rights to those provided by the U.S. Constitution); CAL PENAL CODE 189 (West Supp. 1998) (setting forth the types of first degree murder and qualifying all other murders as second degree); id (describing the penalty for first degree murder with special circumstances as death or life in prison without the possibility of parole); id (b) (providing penalties for defendants who are convicted of first degree murder and who are between the ages of sixteen and eighteen at the time of the murder); id. 206, (setting forth the elements for the crime of torture and indicating that torture is punishable by a life term in state prison); id. 859 (repealing language requiring a prosecutor to provide copies of police arrest, and crime reports to the defense within two calendar days of arraignment); id (describing requirements and procedures relating to defense counsel assigned in felony cases); id (allowing for continuances in cases where two or more defendants are chargedjointly in the same complaint, indictment, or information); id (providing for a remedy for setting trial dates beyond the statutory time limits in felony cases). 3. See infra notes and accompanying text (discussing how the purpose of Proposition 115 was not to protect the accused but to make changes regarding trial procedure and discovery in favor of the prosecution similar to those in the federal system). 4. See infra notes and accompanying text (describing Proposition 115's single statutory scheme and how it changes the timing and substance of the discovery process). 5. California has initiated numerous nationwide political-legal trends through its use of ballot initiatives, and Proposition 115 may follow suit. See, e.g., Eleanor Swift, Does It Matter Who is in Charge of Evidence Law?, 25 LOY. L. L. REV. 649, (1992) (contending the initiative process is inappropriate for Proposition 115); Eric Shine & Ronald Grover, What's Next for Business? Check out the California Ballot, That state's myriad initiatives often become national trends, Bus. WK., Nov. 4, 1996, at 39 (discussing Proposition 13 in 1978, Proposition 187 in 1994, and Proposition 209 in 1996, all of which triggered national trends). Now that California has retreated from broad defense discovery and no prosecution discovery to align its discovery procedures in criminal cases with those of the federal government, it would not be surprising if other states followed suit. See, e.g., Mark A. Esqueda, Note, U. DEr. MERCy L. REv. 317, (1997) (stating that Proposition 115 is a lodestar for Michigan courts to follow in interpreting similar state provisions); Therese M. Myers, Note, Reciprocal Discovery Violations: Visiting the Sins of the Defense Lawyer on the Innocent Client, 33 AM. CRIM. L. REv. 1277, 1282 & n.32 (stating that Georgia and Michigan have followed California in reciprocal criminal discovery expansion). 6. See discussion infra Part IV (examining how Proposition 115's changes to discovery in California criminal proceedings have impaired the reliability of preliminary hearings in screening cases before trial and have detracted from the possibility of achieving reliable results
4 468 AMERICAN UNIVERSrIY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 48:465 changes on preliminary hearings and plea bargaining requires an examination of the purpose of the criminal justice system and the function and history of the discovery process. 7 This Article discusses how Proposition 115's changes to the discovery process influence these functions in this historical and philosophical context. Part I briefly describes the purpose of the criminal justice system, and the role of discovery in facilitating that purpose. Part II examines the historical development of the timing and substance of discovery in California before Proposition 115 was passed, while Part III identifies the purpose and nature of Proposition 115's changes to that process. Part IV discusses the unfortunate impact of these changes on the effectiveness of preliminary hearings to screen reliable criminal cases prior to trial, and on the likelihood of achieving a reliable result in the event of a trial or plea bargain. Part IV then examines the inadequacy of other pretrial sources of information as substitutes for discovery, and concludes that Proposition 115's discovery changes undermine the reliability of judgments in the criminal trial courts. Finally, Part V proposes reforms. I. THE PURPOSE OF THE CRIMINALJUSTICE SYSTEM AND THE FUNCTION OF DISCOVERY A. The Purpose of the CriminalJustice System The purpose of the criminal justice system is often described as a "search for the truth" 8 in order to convict the guilty and free the innocent. 9 This process is a synthesis of a variety of elements, from plea bargains). 7. See discussion infra Parts I, II (offering a brief description of the criminal justice system's purpose and the function of discovery within the criminal justice system, followed by a history of discovery in California prior to Proposition 115). 8. See generally Marvin E. Frankel, The Search for Truth: An Umpireal View, 123 U. PA. L. REV (1975) (exploring how and why thejustice system should be directed towards reaching the truth). The search for truth is a widely held objective of the criminal justice system. See, e.g., Giles v. Maryland, 386 U.S. 66, 98 (1967) (Fortas,J., concurring) ("The State's obligation is not to convict, but to see that, so far as possible, truth emerges."). See generally Izazaga v. Superior Court, 54 Cal. 3d 356, 370, 815 P.2d 304, 313 (1991) (recognizing the viewpoint that discovery, in serving to promote "'the orderly ascertainment of the truth,' should not be a one-way street" (quotingjones v. Superior Court, 58 Cal. 2d 56, 60, 372 P.2d 919, 921 (1962)); Barry Nakell, Criminal Discovery for the Defense and the Prosecution-the Developing Constitutional Considerations, 50 N.C. L. REV. 437, 437 (1972) (indicating that the basic aims of discovery in criminal cases include enabling parties to obtain information on disputed issues, protecting against surprises at trial, delineating issues clearly and narrowly, helping to ascertain the truth, detecting perjury, encouraging settlements, and assuring that probative evidence is available to the party whom it benefits). 9. See, e.g., In rewinship, 397 U.S. 358,372 (1970) (Harlan,J., concurring) ("[I]t is better
5 1998] PROPOSITION 115 including evidentiary and procedural rules, litigant concerns, social values, political interests, institutional considerations, and systemic capacity. As the justice system evolves, these elements are accorded different weights in relation to each other 0 and their fusion achieves a "legal"" truth that ultimately meets our current social expectations of "fundamental fairness" 2 or 'Justice. " ' s Together, these social, that five guilty men should be acquitted before one innocent man is convicted."); see also, e.g., United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 655 (1984) (maintaining that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel is based in part on the primary objective of criminal justice, which is to convict the guilty and set free the innocent); Craig M. Bradley & Joseph L. Hoffmann, Public Perception, Justice, and the Search for the Truth in Criminal Cases, 69 S. CAL. L. REV. 1267, 1271 (1996) (stating further that the main purpose of criminal trials is a search for truth, and that the public is interested in convicting the guilty and acquitting the innocent). 10. See William J. Brennan, Jr., The Criminal Prosecution: Sporting Event or Quest for Truth?, 1963 WASH. U. L.Q. 279, 279 (stating that "the single constant for our profession is the need for continuous examination and reexamination of our premises as to what law should do to achieve betterjustice"). Justice Brennan argues for, among other things, expanded discovery for the defense in order to dispel the notion that a criminal trial is a game. See id. at 282 (stating that all accused should have the right of discovery on equal terms, or that no one should have that right). 11. See, e.g., Hon. Simon H. Rifkind, The Lauyers Role and Responsibility in Modem Society, in 30 REc. ASS'N OF THE BAR OF THE CITY OF N.Y. 534, (1975) (stating that the adversarial process is a type of organized and institutionalized confrontation which strives to achieve a thorough search for and assessment of both facts and law); see also, e.g., id at 543 (concluding that a trial's purpose is not to ascertain truth, but to resolve controversies by applying rules to achieve a "courtroom truth"). 12. SeeEric D. Blumenson, Constitutional Limitations on ProsecutorialDisovey, 18 HARV. C.R.- C.L. L. REV. 123, 126, 170 (1983) (arguing that enforcing discovery rules which exclude undisclosed evidence may harm the accuracy and fairness of a trial, and noting alternatives that could better enhance the search for truth). In short, the accused is afforded maximum protection even at the expense of a factually reliable result. This illustrates that the principal objective of an accusational system is not necessarily to seek the truth, but to ensure that the accused has been treated fairly, and that, correspondingly, the system has produced a fair and just result. Raneta Lawson Mack, It's Broke So Let's Fix It: Using a Quasi-Inquisitorial Approach to Limit the Impact of Bias in the American CriminalJustice System, 7 IND. INT'L & COMP. L. REv. 63, (1996). See generally WAYNE R. LAFAVE &JEROLD H. ISRAEL, CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: HORNBOOK SERIES 2.4, at (2d ed. 1992) (discussing the relationship between fundamental fairness, the due process clause, and the Bill of Rights). 13. See Bradley & Hoffmann, supra note 9, at 1271 (recognizing that in addition to searching for truth, criminal trials also serve the important purpose of "expressing society's deepest shared notions of institutional justice and fair play"); Charles P. Curtis, The Ethics of Advocacy, 4 STAN. L. REV. 3, 12 (1951) ("Justice is something larger and more intimate than truth. Truth is only one of the ingredients of justice. Its whole is the satisfaction of those concerned."); Abraham S. Goldstein, The State and The Accused: Balance of Advantage in Criminal Procedure, 69 YALE LJ. 1149, 1149 (1960) (maintaining that the principal objective of criminal procedure is to ensure that the disposition of a case before the court is just, and that justice at times requires serving the larger public interest); see also Blumenson, supra note 12, at (explaining that the search for justice relies upon the Bill of Rights, which was designed to counterbalance the extremely disadvantageous position of an accused, and adding that truth and justice are not synonymous). But see ALAN M. DERSHOWrrz, REASONABLE DOUBTS 34-48, (1996) (discussing how the criminal justice system is not a search for "pure" truth, and that the legal system mandates that certain truths be suppressed by both legal and ethical methods). In Reasonable Doubts, Professor Dershowitz describes the differing layers of "truth" in criminal justice, see id. at 143, and asserts that defense attorneys are often obligated to prevent specific truths from surfacing:
6 470 AMERICAN UNiVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 48:465 political, and institutional elements produce a community, 4 rather than an individual, 5 body of law.' To provide a context for the development of discovery, it is worthwhile to examine briefly how these elements impede, modify, or advance the search for "legal truth," fairness and reliability. First, because the search for "legal truth" is intended to culminate in a trial that is designed to recreate an event, it is important to recognize the difficulty of accurately recreating that event. Real evidence, such as weapons, bodily fluids, documents, or other physical objects may be altered or improperly preserved any time between the original event and the trial. Information from percipient fact witnesses is unavoidably influenced by the witnesses' ability to perceive, remember, and relate accurately. Fact witnesses necessarily provide their individual recollections of events, and a variety of factors may affect the reliability of their memories. 7 [A] criminal trial is anything but a pure search for truth. When defense attorneys represent guilty clients-as most do, most of the time-their responsibility is to try, by all fair and ethical means, to prevent the truth about their client's guilt from emerging. Id. at 166 (emphasis in original). 14. See generally Juan Cardenas, The Crime Victim in the Prosecutorial Process, 9 HARV. J.L. & PUB. PoL' 357, (1986) (discussing the history of the public prosecution system as a part of community-based law whereby "community kinship" brought about criminal justice). 15. See Goldstein, supra note 13, at (arguing that justice requires procedures to level the playing field between the state and the accused). 16. See Bradley & Hoffmann, supra note 9, at 1272 (asserting that the trial process brings.community catharsis" and further elaborating that "[t]he criminal trial, as the most vivid and visible intersection of State and individual, simultaneously affirms the needs of both our collective and separate selves" (citing Barbara A. Babcock, Fair Play: Evidence Favorable to an Accused and Effective Assistance of Counsel, 34 STAN. L. REV. 1133, 1140 (1982))). Professor Peter Arenella has described how criminal procedure serves to legitimize a community's processes. He stated that "criminal procedure can perform a legitimization function by resolving statecitizen disputes in a manner that commands the community's respect for the fairness of its processes as well as the reliability of its outcomes." Peter Arenella, Rethinking the Functions of Criminal Procedure: The Warren and Burger Courts' Competing Ideologies, 72 GEO. LJ. 185, 188 (1983). Furthermore, criminal procedure fuses the processes of reconstructing facts and evaluating morals: Since substantive guilt includes both facts and value judgments about the actor's moral culpability, criminal procedure must provide a procedural mechanism that reliably reconstructs historical facts and morally evaluates their significance. The combination of these two procedural functions-reliable historical fact reconstruction and moral evaluation-cannot be equated with "truth" discovery. Id. at The accuracy of a perception or recollection of an event may be influenced by a witness's emotional state at the time of the observation, the quality of the opportunity to observe the event, the reaction of other people to the witness's recollections, or the witness's own motives, biases, or other interests in effect either at the time of the observation or at the time the witness is asked to recall the event. SeeJUDGEJERoME FRANK & BARBARA FRANK, NOT GUILTY206 (1971). Facts do not register impartially or identically with all observers. The facts they perceive are not, for them, objective, but are subjective. The outer world and their respective inner worlds combine, intertwine, and in differing ways for each one. Each
7 1998] PROPOSITION 115 Increasingly, studies focus on the use of distorted information from percipient witnesses, particularly regarding the identification of a suspect to support a criminal conviction. Additionally, fact-finders usually must determine that an accused had formed the particular mental state required for the charged offense in order to determine whether she should be held criminally responsible.' 9 A state of mind, such as the specific intent to steal, may be established by direct evidence, such as a statement by the accused, or by drawing inferences from facts observed, recalled, and reported by witnesses or by other circumstances. In recognizing the potential risks of establishing specific intent based on circumstantial evidence, courts, such as those in California, provide instructions to be read to juries regarding how they are to proceed with their deliberations. 0 Second, the criminal justice system employs the adversarial process as the method for ascertaining "legal truth." A criminal trial involves two or more opposing litigants who employ procedural and dwells partly in a world of his own, compounded uniquely of the internal and the external. He observes in terms of his unique needs, personality, temperament, emotions. Id. 18. According to Ohio State University Professor Ronald Huff, mistaken eyewitness testimony is the main cause of over 7500 false convictions each year. See Kevin Krajick, Genetics in the Courtroom: Controversial DNA Testing Can Clear a Suspect, NEWSWEEK, Jan. 11, 1993, at 64 (remarking that victims of crime, particularly after receiving investigators' suggestions, can invent false memories); see also David F. Hall et al., Postevent Information and Changes in Recollection for a Natural Event, in EYEWTNESS TESTIMONY: PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES (Gary L. Wells & Elizabeth Loftus eds., 1984) (discussing, in criminal cases, the effect of information received subsequent to the initial perception of an event on a witness' memory); Gary L. Wells & Amy L. Bradford, "Good, You Identifed the Suspect": Feedback to Eyewitnesses Distorts Their Reports of the Witnessing Experience 83J. APPLIED PSYCHOL. 360, 360 (1998) (discussing the results of an experiment measuring the effect of feedback on witness' identification); Don't Rely on Witness IDs, NAT'L LJ.,June 15, 1998, at A6 (discussing a study conducted by an Iowa State University psychologist demonstrating that people making identifications from police lineups and photographs are more confident about their identifications if they are given positive feedback than if they receive negative or no reinforcing feedback). 19. Discussing why they reached a seven to five deadlock on an aggravated arson charge after convicting the defendant of six counts of arson,jurors told reporters that during their five days of deliberations most of their time was spent on the question of intent. SeeJ. HarryJones & Greg Moran, Arsonist is Spared Life Term, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIB., July 24, 1998, at B-1. One juror indicated that "[tihere wasn't enough direct evidence to show what the defendant thought." Id. at B The California jury instruction regarding the level of circumstantial evidence that is required to prove specific intent or the necessary mental state reads, in relevant part: The [specific intent] [or) [and] [mental state] with which an act is done may be shown by the circumstances surrounding the commission of the act. However, you may not find the defendant guilty of the crime charged... unless the proved circumstances are not only (1) consistent with the theory that the defendant had the required [specific-intent] [or] [and] [mental state] but (2) cannot be reconciled with any other rational conclusion. CALIFORNIA JURY INSTRUCTIONS, CRIMINAL 2.02, at 39 (6th ed. 1996) [hereinafter CA JURY INSTRUCTIONS]; see also id. 2.01, at 37 (addressing the level of circumstantial evidence generally required for a finding of guilt).
8 AMERICAN UNIERSrTY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 48:465 evidentiary tools to gather and use information in order to win, 2 ' and is presided over by a magistrate who is usually unfamiliar with the case. The degree and timing each adversary has to access information about the case, and the quality and admissibility of such information directly influences the achievement of "legal truth." For example, cross-examination, one of the most effective tools available to test the reliability of information, is effective only to the degree that the crossexamining party has access to relevant information and sufficient time with which to prepare to use it. Additionally, an otherwise relevant piece of information may not be admissible because it is privileged or because of a procedural defect such as inadequate notice.h Furthermore, the search for "legal truth" is influenced by the relative skill of each adversary, including each adversary's ability to choose whether and how to present information to the fact-finders. Ultimately, the advocates provide information to a judicial officer or jury who must evaluate the information presented in order to reach a verdict. Third, prevailing social, political, and institutional values also modify the search for "legal truth. " 23 Constitutional guarantees 2 4 and 21. The adversarial process has been compared to a game in which lawyers compete to win. See, e.g., FRANK & FRANK, supra note 17, at 225 (stating that the legal profession's current idea of a fair trial is one in which lawyers fight according to specific ground rules that judges, like referees, will enforce, while ajury determines the winner); WilliamJ. Brennan,Jr., The Criminal Prosecution: SportingEvent or Quest for Truth? A Progress Report, 68 WASH. U. L.Q. 1, (1990) (arguing, twenty-six years after his first lecture on the subject, that fairness dictates that discovery for the defense should continue to expand to avoid the metaphor of a trial as a game); see also ALAN M. DERSHOWrrz, THE BEsr DEFENSE xv-xvi (1982) (stating that "winning" is the lawyer's primary goal). 22. The Hon. Ronald Domnitz of the San Diego Municipal Court once told the author that, in his opinion, the goal of the criminal justice process has nothing to do with truth and everything to do with evidence. 23. SeeArenella, supra note 16, at 202 (recognizing that the criminal justice system can be viewed as a conflict resolution mechanism that garners respect from the community for outcomes that are reliable and processes that are fair). 24. See, e.g., U.S. CONST. amend. IV (establishing protection against unreasonable searches and seizures regardless of the value of evidence found); id. amends. V, XIV, I (establishing the right of the accused against self-incrimination, regardless of whether the information she possesses would facilitate the search for truth); Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, (1966) (holding that, to protect a person's privilege against self-incrimination, a person taken into custody must be informed of her right to remain silent, that anything said may be used against that person in court, that she has a right to an attorney or to have an attorney appointed to her if unable to afford one); Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609, 615 (1965) (holding that under the Fifth Amendment, a defendant has the absolute right to remain silent and that a prosecutor cannot comment that such silence constitutes evidence of guilt); Blumenson, supra note 12, at 134 (asserting that assignment of the burden of proof does not comport with searching for truth, and that the Fourth Amendment and Miranda recognize that the search for the truth is not a priority of the criminal justice system). The California Supreme Court requires separate trials for co-defendants when one or more co-defendants are adverse witnesses for the state regardless of the value of the information withheld from the jury. SeePeople v. Aranda, 63 Cal.
9 1998] PROPOSITION social values codified into law2 set limits on information gathering, acquisition and use, but also promote "legal truth" by creating procedures to test the reliability of information. 26 Institutional concerns further affect the fairness and reliability of results.2 Prevailing public perceptions28 and expectations,29 changing social 2d 518, , 407 P.2d 265, (1967) (indicating that if the prosecution seeks to introduce a statement of a defendant that implicates a co-defendant, the prosecution must either effectively delete the implicating statements in a joint trial or the court can grant a severance). 25. Evidence rules limiting the admission of hearsay evidence are designed to recognize a social tradition requiring witnesses to testify under oath, in person, and subject to crossexamination. SeeJOHN WILLIAM STRONG Er AL, 2 McCORMICK ON EVIDENCE 244, at (4th ed. 1992). Evidence rules recognizing privileges protect "interests and relationships which, rightly or wrongly, are regarded as of sufficient social importance to justify" inhibiting access to the truth. 1 id. 72, at 269. Evidence rules limiting the use of character evidence balances a concern for unfair prejudice and distracting from the issues in the case against an interest in testing a witness's credibility. 1 id. 40, at 137; 1 id. 43, at 156. For example, hearsay is inadmissible unless the proposed information falls within a specific exception. See CAL EvID. CODE 1200 (West 1995 & Supp. 1998) (setting forth the hearsay rule); see also People v. Alvarez, 14 Cal. 4th 155, 185, 926 P.2d 365, 382 (1996) (stating that hearsay, consisting of evidence of a statement made out-of-court offered as proof of what it states, is inadmissible unless it falls within an exception) (citations omitted), cert. deni.d, 118 S. Ct. 94 (1997). The assertion of a statutory privilege bars the introduction of evidence that might otherwise be relevant. See CAL. EvID. CODE (West 1995 & Supp. 1998) (creating particular privileges). The use of character evidence is limited. See id. 1101(a), 1103(a)-(c) (West Supp. 1998) (indicating when character evidence may appropriately be used). Evidence of the sexual conduct of a complaining witness offered in certain sex offense prosecutions may also be limited. See id. 782 (West 1995). However, the California legislature added a section to the evidence code in 1995 providing for the admissibility of evidence of another sexual offense by a defendant. See id (West Supp. 1998). The California legislature also added a section to the evidence code in 1996 providing for the admissibility, in a criminal proceeding where the defendant is accused of an offense involving domestic violence, of a defendant's prior acts of domestic violence. See id (West Supp. 1998) (establishing that evidence of prior acts of domestic violence must be disclosed to a defendant thirty days before trial and limiting the use of acts occurring more than ten years before the alleged offense); see also Rifkind, supra note 11, at (discussing the filters and baffles in court proceedings that exclude information from court proceedings-such as assigning the burden of proof and excluding some types of information). 26. The Californiajury instruction regarding the credibility of witnesses states, in part, that "[iln determining the believability of a witness you may consider anything that has a tendency to prove or disprove the truthfulness of the testimony of the witness..." CA JURY INSTRUCTIONS, supra note 20, Proponents rely on the adversarial process as a mechanism for reconciling conflicting perceptions and conclusions. See CAL. EVID. CODE 773 (West 1995 & Supp. 1998) (regulating cross-examination). 27. Examples of institutional limitations on the search for "legal truth" are statutes of limitations, time limits and standards for appellate review, limitations on deciding facts de novo, court rules, and burdens of proof. 28. Despite a 30% decline in California's crime rate over a four-year period, "the public feels more threatened than ever," reported Jerry Hill, California Field Director for Justice Fellowship. California Crime Rate Continues Its Decline, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIB., Oct. 3, 1997, at A- 3 [hereinafter Crime Rate Continues]. 29. For example, one expectation is that the courts' primary purpose is to resolve disputes between parties. See Edward J. Imwinkelried, The Right to "Plead Out" Issues and Block the Admission of Preudicial Evidence: The Differential Treatment of Civil Litigants and the Criminal Accused as a Denial of Equal Protection, 40 EMoRYLJ. 341,391 (1991) (arguing for an overhaul of the criminal justice system because the "[t]he courts' primary function is dispute resolution") (citation omitted); see also RONALD L. CARLSON & EDWARDJ. IMVINKELRIED, DYAMICS OF TRIAL
10 AMERICAN UNiVERSrIY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 48:465 values, 30 and advances in human knowledge and experience s ' create a catalyst for further modifications of the truth-seeking process. In addition, limiting access to post-conviction relief in the trial 2 and appellate courts,s containing the social costs? involved in the PRACTICE: PROBLEMS AND MATERIALS 1.1 (2d ed. 1995) (stating that the function of the judicial system is to provide justice and to serve as a mechanism for dispute resolution); Bradley & Hoffmann, supra note 9, at 1274 (maintaining that society uses laws as the main method for settling disputes among people). But see Steve Holden, Note, Izazaga v. Superior Court: Affirming the Public's Cry to Unshackle the Criminal Prosecution System, 23 PAC: L.J. 1721, (1992) (recognizing that although dispute resolution, which is a primary goal of the civil system, is an integral component of the criminal justice system, the main goal of the criminal system is to search for actual truth and to punish those who violate criminal laws). 30. "The state's constituents no longer show any interest in limiting their state's punishment power or in forcing the state to justify the exercise of that power. On the contrary, the voting population calls for ever greater increases in the scope and severity of state punishment." Markus Dirk Dubber, American Plea Bargains, German Lay Judges, and the Crisis of Criminal Procedure, 49 STAN. L. REV. 547, 602 (1997); see also id. at (criticizing plea bargaining in the American courts as inconsistent with the principle of autonomy and suggesting reforms by comparing the American criminal justice process to that used in Germany). 31. DNA testing and an increased understanding of the dynamics of eyewitness identification are examples of change in the search for reliable results. See Krajick, supra note 18, at 64 (explaining that DNA typing has become a powerful weapon in combating the unreliable results that stem from frequently incorrect eyewitness identifications); see also Hall et al., supra note 18 and accompanying text (discussing problems with unreliable eyewitness identifications due to post-identification feedback). 32. The limits on access to post-conviction relief may seem harsh in certain cases. For example, in a murder case in Los Angeles tried to two separate juries, the prosecutor told ajury that defendant was the triggerman. The next day, the same prosecutor told a differentjury that the evidence was "100 percent consistent" with another defendant firing the round that killed the victim. See Minerva Conto, Second "Triggerman" Sentenced to Life Term in One-Bullet Killing, LA DAILYJ.,June 16, 1997, at 11 (reporting that both defendants were convicted of the same murder, sentenced to life in prison without parole, and denied new trials). 33. The showing necessary for a defendant to prevail on post-conviction review continues to increase. SeeJackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 324 (1979) (holding that habeas corpus relief is appropriate only where evidence accepted at trial demonstrates that no trier of fact could have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt). The Court in Jackson concluded that, on habeas review of a bench-trial murder conviction, a sufficiency of evidence review requires that, on a record supporting multiple inferences, the reviewer must presume that the trier resolved those conflicts in favor of the prosecution and must defer to the trier's resolution. See id. at 326. In such an analysis, the final test for determining the appropriateness of habeas review is whether a fact-finder could reasonably find that the defendant committed the crime. See id.; see also Herrera v. Collins, 506 U.S. 390, 417 (1993) (recognizing that newly discovered evidence of.actual innocence" found after conviction, without more, is not grounds for federal habeas relief). Justice Scalia, in his concurring opinion in Herrera, stated that: There is no basis in text, tradition, or even in contemporary practice (if that were enough) for finding in the Constitution a right to demand judicial consideration of newly discovered evidence of innocence brought forward after convictions... With any luck, we shall avoid ever having to face this embarrassing question again, since it is improbable that evidence of innocence as convincing as today's opinion requires would fail to produce an executive pardon. Id. at (Scalia,J., concurring). Two years later, in a six to three ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court again denied a defendant's application for stay of execution. SeeJacobs v. Scott, 513 U.S (1995). The prosecutor told the jury at defendant's sister's trial that she actually pulled the trigger. See id. at 1068 (Stevens, J., dissenting). However, atjacob's trial (which occurred first), the same prosecutor told the jury thatjacobs was the triggerman. See id. (citingjacobs v. Scott, 31 F.3d 1319, 1322 n.6 (5th Cir. 1994)). Jacobs was executed by lethal injection. See
11 19981 PROPOSITION criminal justice system, and increasingly mandatory sentences all set limits on the search for fairness and reliability. Finally, ethical obligations require or recommend conduct for lawyers that limits this search. 35 B. The Function of Discovery Discovery is a fluid process conducted between the prosecution and defense after a criminal charge has been filed; a process that reflects the current balance struck between interests discussed earlier to achieve fairness and reliability.3 6 As one commentator noted, "The basic purpose of... discovery is to protect the integrity of the fact- Kathleen Adams et al., The Week- January 1-7, TIME, Jan. 16, 1995, at 13 (relating the facts of Jesse Jacobs's execution). Furthermore, Tide I of The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, tit. I, Pub. L. No , 110 Stat (codified in scattered sections of 28 U.S.C.), made significant changes to federal habeas corpus procedure. The section applicable to state prisoners sets a one year limitations period for filing an application for a writ of habeaus corpus, establishes procedural restrictions, and limits grounds for federal review. See 28 U.S.C. 2244(a)-(b), (d) (West Supp. 1998). See generally RICHARD ERWIN ETAL., CALIFORNIA CRMINAL DEFENSE PRACTICE (discussing appeals in California), (discussing state habeas corpus), (discussing federal habeas corpus) (1998). 34. Examples of social costs include the costs of operating the criminal justice system, the finality ofjudgments, the protection of society, and the efficiency of the process as a whole. 35. SeeJohn S. Dzienkowski, Lawyering in a Hybrid Adversary System, 38 WM. & MARY L. REV. 45, (1996) (discussing the ethical obligations of lawyers and how the adversarial process may pressure attorneys to compromise their ethical duties, such as the duty of candor to the court); Carrie Menkel-Meadow, The Trouble with the Adversary System in a Postmodern, Multicultural WorM, 38 WM. & MAt L. REV. 5, 5-6, 42 (1996) (arguing that "the adversary system is inadequate, indeed dangerous, in part" because it thwarts attorneys' ethical obligations; instead of ethical reform, the justice system requires cultural change). See generally MONROE H. FREEDMAN, UNDERSTANDING LAWYERS' ETHICS (1990) (exploring the traditional role of the lawyer as an adversary); MONROE H. FREEDMAN, LAvYERs' ETHICS IN AN ADVERSARY SYEM (1975) (discussing the conflicts between moral obligations to the court and advocacy duties to the client); cf. Monroe H. Freedman, The Trouble with Postmodern Zea4 38WM. & MARYL. REV. 63 (1996) (criticizing Menkel-Meadow's alternative dispute resolution approach while supporting the adversarial system based on personal dignity and autonomy in which parties to disputes have discretion to resolve the dispute through nonviolent means of the parties' choice). 36. Whether the balance struck by a discovery process facilitates or impedes fairness and reliability requires an understanding of the difference between the access of the prosecution and the defense to information about the case before a criminal charge is filed. Discovery obligations attach only after a criminal case is filed in court. Prior to filing the criminal charge, the prosecution has access to information not available to the defense, especially if the defendant is indigent. This information includes police reports (or at least verbal information from the law enforcement agency investigating the incident or affecting an arrest), lab reports, mental state assessments, medical reports, and information from law enforcement sources from other jurisdictions. In contrast, an indigent defendant is not entitled to counsel until she is arraigned; therefore, she has no advocate to collect information on her behalf prior to her first appearance to answer to a criminal complaint. See CAL. PENAL CODE 859 (West Supp. 1998) (indicating that a defendant must be brought before a magistrate without unnecessary delay after being charged, and that counsel must be appointed to represent a defendant if she so desires and is unable to afford counsel). Moreover, a prosecutor may have been in possession of information about a case.for months or years before deciding to file a criminal complaint. See Brennan, supra note 10, at 286 ("Criminal discovery would be one tool whereby [defendants] would have a better chance to meet on more equal terms what the state, at its leisure and without real concern for expense, gathers to convict them.").
12 AMERICAN UNmvERSrIY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 48:465 finding process in the criminal trial." Taken literally, this observation has two obvious shortcomings. First, the integrity of the fact-finding process in the trial itself depends on a pretrial discovery process that permits both the prosecution and defense to prepare their case adequately before trial. Pretrial proceedings, including preliminary hearings, should facilitate this process.ss Second, if a fair and reliable result, or "legal truth," is truly the primary objective of the criminal justice system as a whole, the discovery process should protect the integrity of the fact-finding process in the trial courts, 9 regardless of whether a final outcome is achieved by trial or guilty plea. 0 The perception that focuses on a trial as the crucible from which justice emerges is myopic. The vast majority of criminal cases are resolved without a trial' Because these dispositions are final, and more difficult to challenge than trial verdicts, any process that results in a criminal disposition in the trial courts, including dispositions in lieu of trial, should be reliable. California courts have long recognized that the purpose of pretrial discovery has been to promote "'the orderly ascertainment of the truth.' 4 2 Clearly, a guilty plea, agreed to between the parties and sanctioned by the court, produces a "legal truth" that should be both reliable and fair. 37. Nakell, supra note 8, at 443. Professor Nakell argues for expanding discovery in the pretrial phase of criminal cases. See id. at SeeJean Montoya, A Theory of Compulsmy Process Clause Discovery Rights, 70 IND. LJ. 845, 845 (1995) (arguing that the U.S. Constitution provides support for pretrial discovery in criminal trials). Professor Montoya maintains that the Compulsory Process Clause of the Sixth Amendment constitutes a foundation for certain criminal discovery rights and provides a mechanism through which the presentation of evidence by the prosecution may be checked. See id. at ; see also U.S. CONST. amend. VI ("In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to... be confronted with the witnesses against him."). 39. See Ephraim Margolin, Toward Effective Criminal Discovery in California-A Practitioner's Virw, 56 CAL. L. REv. 1040, 1043 (1968) ("For the great majority of California defendants, justice is what trial courts do."); see also id. at 1059 (arguing for the expansion of criminal discovery). 40. For purposes of this Article, guilty pleas include pleas of nolo contendere. 41. See infra notes and accompanying text (indicating that more than 95% of felony cases filed in California are resolved before trial). 42. See Cohen v. Municipal Court, 250 Cal. App. 2d 861,866,58 Cal. Rptr. 846, 850 (1967) (quoting Jones v. Superior Court, 58 Cal. 2d 56, 60, 372 P.2d 919, 921, from its holding that pretrial discovery would adequately inform the defendant of the nature of the charges). The California Court of Appeal has also recognized that an important function of discovery is to avoid surprise. See Hobbs v. Municipal Court, 233 Cal. App. 3d 670, 690, 284 Cal. Rptr. 655, 668 (1991) ("An important aim of discovery is to enhance the search for truth while at the same time reduce, if not eliminate, the elements of surprise and gamesmanship from the proceedings."), overruled on other grounds by People v. Tillis, 18 Cal. 4th 284, 956 P.2d 409 (1998).
13 1998] PROPOSITION 115 II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF COURT-ORDERED DEFENSE DISCOVERYAND THE SHIFT IN TIMING FROM TRIAL TO ARRAIGNMENT A. The Early Denial of Court-Ordered Defense Discovery The federal Constitution does not provide for court-ordered discovery to either prosecution or defense." In the past, prosecutors required no judicial assistance to obtain information relating to a criminal charge." Unlike prosecutors, however, those accused of crimes had no right to judicially-mandated discovery from the prosecutions and little or no independent access to such information. 46 California was no different in that its courts refused to 43. See Weatherford v. Bursey, 429 U.S. 545, 559 (1977) (explaining that there is no constitutional right to discovery in a criminal case); People v. Gonzalez, 51 Cal. 3d 1179, 1258, 800 P.2d 1159, 1204 (1990) (noting that the federal Constitution does not confer a general right to criminal discovery); H. Lee Sarokin & William E. Zuckerman, Presumed Innocent? Restrictions on Criminal Discovery in Federal Court Belie This Presumption, 43 RUTGERS L. REV. 1089, (1991) (discussing the rationale underlying criminal discovery restrictions). See generally FRANK & FRANK, supra note 17, at (criticizing the lack of discovery for the defense as an injustice in the criminal justice system); LAFAVE & ISRAEL, supra note 12, at 836 (discussing the expansion of discovery); Brennan, supra note 21, at 2-3 (arguing for the continued expansion of criminal discovery); Nakell, supra note 8, at 449 (citing Rex v. Holland, 100 Eng. Rep (1LB. 1792)) (stating that defendants had no right to discovery under common law). 44. See Nakell, supra note 8, at 439 ("The prosecutor, for his part, is well equipped with information gathering devices that include informal investigation by police... and even discovery directly from the accused himself."). However, prosecutors have always needed the assistance of ajudge to issue search and arrest warrants. 45. The notion of defense discovery has been roundly rejected by federal and state courts. See United States v. Garsson, 291 F. 646, 649 (S.D.N.Y. 1923) (rejecting the notion that a defendant should "have the whole evidence against him to peek over at his leisure" because "the accused has every advantage"--including the right to plead the Fifth Amendment and the right to a jury trial); State v. Tune, 98 A.2d 881, 884 (NJ. 1953) (holding that "liberal factfinding procedures are not to be used blindly where the result would be to defeat the ends of justice" and open the door for criminal defendants to use such information to procure perjured testimony, bribe or frighten witnesses either to change their testimony or to refuse to testify at all); People ex rel Lemon v. Supreme Court, 156 N.E. 84, (N.Y. 1927) (upholding the English common law prohibition of discovery); People v. Jocelyn, 29 Cal. 562, 564 (1866) (refusing to grant a new trial on the grounds that the defense was surprised by a witness not endorsed on the indictment, in part, because the defense did not allege the witness's testimony was false); Michael Moore, CiminalDiscovery, 19 HASTINGS LJ. 865, 866 (1968) ("By 1928 it was safe to say that there was a 'general rule that the accused has no right to the inspection or disclosure of evidence in the possession of the prosecution.'") (quoting Annotation, Right of Accused to Inspection or Disclosure of Evidence in Possession of Prosecution, 52 A.L.R. 207 (1928)). But see People v. Davis, 18 N.W. 362, (Mich. 1884) (involving an adultery prosecution where the prosecutor was required to provide the defense with the time and place of the alleged offense). The state's interest is that accused parties shall be acquitted, unless upon all the facts they are seen to be guilty, and if there shall be in the possession of any of its officers information that can legitimately tend to overthrow the case made for the prosecution, or to show that it is unworthy of credence, the defense should be given the benefit of it. Id. 46. See F. LEE BAILEY & HENRY B. ROTHBLATT, INVESTIGATION AND PREPARATION OF CRImtNAL CASES 8.16, at 171 (2d ed. 1985) ("Most victims are reluctant to discuss a case with
14 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 48:465 order the prosecution to provide discovery, other than notice of the charges, to the defense. 4 ' This refusal effectively resulted in the prosecution's nearly exclusive possession of the information on which a criminal charge against a defendant was based unless prosecutors, or other law enforcement sources, chose to exercise their discretion to provide discovery to the defense voluntarily. 48 Gradually, as the view developed that ascertaining the facts to arrive at the truth outweighed other considerations, California courts and the legislature joined other states and the federal system in requiring the prosecution to disclose some information to the defense. In contrast, there were only occasional efforts to create defense counsel. To obtain an interview you must impress the victim with the need for fairness. Sometimes the prosecutor will be of assistance in arranging such an interview."); Rodney J. Uphoff, Criminal Discovery in Olahoma: A Call for Legislative Action, 46 OKLA. L. REV. 381, 412 (1993) (noting that informal talks with the opponent's experts should be encouraged particularly by the "prosecutor given the superior access to expert assistance the State possesses in most criminal cases"); see also Paul C. Giannelli, "Junk Science" The Criminal Cases, 84J. CRIM. L. & CRIMINOLOGY 105, (1993) (discussing the need for a particular focus on the reliability of expert witnesses in criminal cases due to the unavailability of expert witness testimony for indigent defendants). 47. See In rehess, 45 Cal. 2d 171, 175, 288 P.2d 5, 7 (1955) (recognizing that the defendant was entitled to sufficient notice of the charges to enable her to prepare and present a defense); cf. People v. Tarantino, 45 Cal. 2d 590, 598, 290 P.2d 505, 511 (1955) (dismissing the appellant's contention that the trial court erred in failing to order discovery of the prosecution's transcripts of the appellant's own statements not introduced into evidence on the grounds that the defense had neither taken advantage of the opportunity to access the evidence nor proved its relevance); People v. Gallardo, 41 Cal. 2d 57, 67, 257 P.2d 29, (1953) (upholding the trial court's reffisal to allow the defense to inspect a prosecution witness's notes that she examined prior to taking the stand); People v. Bermijo, 2 Cal. 2d 270, 276, 40 P.2d 823, 826 (1935) (upholding the trial court's refusal to order the prosecutor to allow the defense to see notes of the prosecutor's questions and the defendant's responses that were made shortly after the alleged crime, reasoning that the notes were not made by the defendant); People v. Glaze, 139 Cal. 154, 157, 72 P. 965, 966 (1903) (upholding the trial court's refusal to allow the defense access to an eye-witness' statement that the police reduced to writing). But seepeople v. Riser, 47 Cal. 2d 566, 586, 305 P.2d 1, 13 (1956) ("Absent some governmental requirement that information be kept confidential for the purposes of effective law enforcement, the state has no interest in denying the accused access to all evidence that can throw light on issues in this case."), overruled on other grounds by People v. Morse 60 Cal. 2d 631, 388 P.2d 33 (1964). See generally Thomas Havlena, Proposition 115 and the Rebirth of Prosecutorial Discovery in California, 18 W. ST. U. L. REV. 3 (1990) (describing the history of discovery in criminal cases in California). 48. Traditionally, prosecutors have enjoyed essentially automatic access to information obtained by law enforcement, public agencies, private citizens, and the suspect herself before the appointment or retention of counsel. See Nakell, supra note 8, at 439. "Even if [the defense) can learn the names of the witnesses against his client, those witnesses have already talked to the state's investigators and more frequently than not have been warned not to talk with anyone representing the accused." See Brennan, supra note 10, at See Riser, 47 Cal. 2d at 586, 305 P.2d at 13 (rejecting the argument that a complete ban on prosecutorial disclosure is justified by the risk of imbalance in advantage between the prosecution and defense because it loses sight of the truth-finding purpose of criminal law); see also Robert L. Fletcher, PretrialDiscovery in State Criminal Cases, 12 STAN. L. REV. 293, 298 (1960) (discussing the parameters of pretrial discovery in criminal cases in California and criticizing the judiciary for ignoring statutory reforms that broadened a defendant's access to discovery materials). Discovery in the federal system has given the defense little more than the constitutional bare
15 1998] PROPOSITION court-ordered discovery from the defense to the prosecution." Until Proposition 115, these efforts were not successful. The following sections describe the gradual expansion of the timing and substance of court-ordered defense discovery and the brief period of prosecution discovery in California. B. Court-Ordered Defense Discovery at Trial In 1956, in People v. Riser," ' the California Supreme Court first embraced the notion that, at the time of trial, a defendant in a criminal case could compel the production of documents or other evidence possessed by the prosecution. The court explained that "It]he decisions of this court have always impliedly recognized that on a proper showing a defendant in a criminal case can compel production when it becomes clear during the course of trial that the prosecution has in its possession relevant and material evidence. 52 In minimum. See Brennan, supra note 21, at 9 (citing Weatherford v. Bursey, 429 U.S. 545, 559 (1977) as holding that there is no general constitutional right to discovery). Consequently, federal rules serve as the primary basis for criminal discovery. See FED. R. GRIM. P. R. 16 (concerning discovery and inspection). In 1957, the defense in federal court was allowed to discover witness statements only for impeachment purposes. SeeJencks Act, 18 U.S.C (1994). See generally FEDERAL DEFENDERS OF SAN DIEGO, INC., DEFENDING A FEDERAL CRIMINAL CASE Ch. 3 (1998 ed.) [hereinafter DEFENDING A FEDERAL CRIMINAL CASE] (discussing discovery in federal court); Brennan, supra note 10, at 279 (discussing whether civil pretrial discovery techniques should be extended to criminal trials); Brennan, supra note 21, at 9 (discussing Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87 (1963)); H. Lee Sarokin & William E. Zuckermann, Presumed Innocent? Restrictions on Criminal Discovery in Federal Court Belie This Presumption, 43 RUTGERS L. REV. 1089, 1092 (1991) (stating that until 1946, no discovery rights existed at all); Gordon v. United States, 344 U.S. 414, 418 (1953) (concerning the production of credibility evidence); United States v. Krulewitch, 145 F.2d 76, 78 (2d Cir. 1944) (discussing a defendant's access to inconsistent statements in the prosecutor's possession); Asgill v. United States, 60 F.2d 776, 778 (4th Cir. 1932) (discussing access to letters written by a government witness); People v. Walsh, 186 N.E. 422, 425 (N.Y. 1933) (discussing access to prior inconsistent statements); People v. Salimone, 251 N.W. 594, (Mich. 1933) (concerning access to prior statements of a prosecution witness). "The federal courts allow discovery only in isolated cases, and even then only when the moving party is able to particularize a need or interest." Roger J. Traynor, Ground Lost and Found in Criminal Discovery, 39 N.Y.U. L. REV. 228, 230 (1964) (discussing the federal discovery climate as it existed during the early 1960s). Although appellate courts articulated the principle that trial courts had the discretion to order discovery to the defense, like the Riser court they often refused to apply this principle to the cases before them. See id. 50. See infra notes and accompanying text (discussing prosecutorial discovery) Cal. 2d 566, 305 P.2d 1 (1956), overruled on other grounds by People v. Morse 60 Cal. 2d 631, 388 P.2d 33 (1964). 52. See id., 47 Cal. 2d at 585, 305 P.2d at 14. The cases cited for this proposition, however, like Riser, all denied discovery to the defense on the grounds that a proper showing had not been made. See People v. Gallardo, 41 Cal. 2d 57, 67, 257 P.2d 29, 35 (1953) (denying the defense access to a witness's notes that she had referred to before taking the stand, but recognizing a right of inspection if "the party demanding the right of inspection lays a foundation by showing that the documents are in the possession of the government, were made by the government's witness, and are contradictory of his present testimony as to relevant and important matters"); People v. Bermijo, 2 Cal. 2d 270, 276, 40 P.2d 823, 826 (1935) (refusing to order the prosecution to allow the defense to see the prosecutor's notes of the defendant's answers to questions made shortly after the alleged incident because the notes were not the
16 AMERICAN UNIVERSrIY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 48:465 Riser, the defendant appealed a conviction imposing the death penalty and an order denying a new trial to the California Supreme Court. s Among various claims of prejudicial error,54 the defense claimed that the trial court erred in denying the defense access to eyewitness statements that it wanted to use for purposes of impeachment. 55 The court concluded that "the state has no interest in denying the accused access to all evidence that can throw light on issues in the case, and in particular it has no interest in convicting on the testimony of witnesses who have not been as rigorously crossexamined and as thoroughly impeached as the evidence permits. ' Although it found the denial of pre-trial discovery proper,5 the Riser court stated that "[t]o deny flatly any right of production on the ground that an imbalance would be created between the advantages of the prosecution and defense would lose sight of the true purpose statements of the defendant); People v. Glaze, 139 Cal. 154, 160, 72 P. 965, (1903) (affirming the prosecution's nondisclosure of an eyewitness's statement, referred to on crossexamination, because it was not the witness's own statement and there was no showing the document would be admissible); Fletcher, supra note 49, at (demonstrating the reluctance of the state courts to apply the principle of discretionary discovery to particular cases). 53. See Riser, 47 Cal. 2d at 572, 305 P.2d at The defense claimed that the jurors were not impartial in assessing the punishment of the defendant, see id. at , 305 P.2d at 5-7, that some of the physical evidence was irrelevant, see id at , 305 P.2d at 7-8, that the evidence of other crimes was prejudicial, see id. at , 305 P.2d at 8-9, that the prosecution failed to establish a chain of custody to admit properly other physical evidence, see id. at , 305 P.2d at 9-11, and that the jury received improper instructions, see id. at , 305 P.2d at See id. at 584, 305 P.2d at 12 (describing the defendant's motion to order a subpoena duces tecum for witness statements, which were reported in a local newspaper, describing the man who committed the murder as having physical characteristics significantly different from the defendant). The defense moved to subpoena the statements because, on crossexamination, the witness made contradictory, perjurious statements. See id. at , 305 P.2d at 12. In declining to order defense discovery in this case, the trial court granted the prosecution's request to vacate the subpoena on the grounds that the information sought was not admissible. See id. at 586, 305 P.2d at 13 ("Production has been denied, not on the ground that there was never any right to it, but because the requirementsjustifying production had not been met in the particular case."); id. at 587, 305 P.2d at (identifying the trial court's error as illogical because "[o]bviously a defendant cannot show conclusively that a document is admissible without seeing it, and yet in order to see it he is told that he must show that it is admissible"). 56. Riser, 47 Cal. 2d at 586,305 P.2d at The court stated that "to compel the prosecution to reveal its evidence beforehand would enable the defendant to secure perjured testimony and fabricate evidence to meet the state's case." Id. at 585, 305 P.2d at 13. The court observed that pretrial disclosure would also unfairly shift the advantage of the accused, who was already protected by the privilege against self-incrimination. See id. (citing State v. Tune, 98 A.2d 881 (NJ. 1953) (concerning a defendant's right to inspection of a confession and other papers in the prosecutor's files), State ev rel Robertson v. Steel, 135 N.W (Minn. 1912) (holding a defendant not entitled to inspect testimony furnished to the district attorney), and 6JOHN HENRYWIGMORE, EVIDENCE IN TRIALs AT COMMON LAW (3d ed. 1940)). The Riser court recognized that disclosure during trial did not give rise to concerns about fabricating evidence and perjury. See id.
17 1998] PROPOSmON 115 of a criminal trial, the ascertainment of the facts." 58 C. Court-Ordered Pretrial Defense Discovery One year later, in Powell v. Superior Court, 59 the California Supreme Court shifted the timing of defense discovery to the pretrial period. In Powell, the court found that the trial court erred in denying the defendant any opportunity to inspect his written confession prior to trial. 6 0 For the first time, the California Supreme Court not only recognized that the trial court had discretion to authorize pretrial disclosure in the interests ofjustice, but applied this principle to the case before it. 6 ' In doing so, the court acknowledged the "evolving 58. Id. at 586, 305 P.2d at 13. Despite its strongly worded disasiociation from the common law tradition of denying court-ordered defense discovery, the Riser court found the trial court's error non-prejudicial and affirmed the defendant's conviction for murder (and his death sentence). See id. at 588, 305 P.2d at 15 (finding that even if the witness's inconsistent testimony were impeached, there existed sufficient physical evidence such as fingerprints to convict the defendant); see also People v. Lawrence, 149 Cal. App. 2d 435, , 308 P.2d 821, (1957) (holding that the trial court did not err in refusing to order the prosecution to disclose during trial the name of an informant who had participated in the commission of the alleged offense because the defense indicated to the court a witness they wished to call was, in fact, the informant). But see Riser, at 592, 305 P.2d at 17 (Carter, J., dissenting) (arguing that the witness's testimony was the most damaging and that the trial court's error justified reversal of the trial court's judgment and ordering a new trial). The trial court in People v. Lawrence was reversed because it granted the prosecutor's objection to allowing this witness to testify, despite a defense offer of proof that the witness was the informant and at trial would contradict prosecution testimony. See Lawrence, 149 Cal. App. 2d at , 308 P.2d at 829. The Lawrence court held that a governmental privilege did not apply to an informant who participated in an offense; that person became a material witness. See id. at 450, 308 P.2d at Cal. 2d 704,312 P.2d 698 (1957). 60. See id , 312 P.2d at (stating that the court has the inherent power to permit pretrial inspection by an accused in the interest ofjustice (citing Shores v. United States, 174 F.2d 838, 844 (1949), and State v. Cicenia, 78 A.2d 568, (N.J. 1951))); Powel, 48 Cal. 2d at 709, 312 P.2d at 701 ("If from the motion the document may be material, the right of inspection obtains."). Consequendy, to permit the defendant to refresh his recollection before trial, the court issued a mandate to restrain the respondent court from proceeding with the trial of the defendant and ordered that the defense be allowed to inspect and copy the defendant's statements. See id. at 709, 312 P.2d at 701. Compare id. at 706, 312 P.2d at 699 (relating that the respondents admitted that the defendant's statements were material and would be admissible at trial), with Riser, 47 Cal. 2d at 585, 305 P.2d at 13 (describing the prosecution's motion to vacate the defendant's subpoena on grounds that the evidence sought by the defense was not admissible). 61. In particular, the Powell court referred to State v. Tippett, 296 S.W. 132, 135 (Mo. 1927), in which the Court extended a rule allowing for the inspection of documents in the hands of civil opponents to defendants in criminal cases by granting access to witness statements for impeachment purposes. See Powel, 48 Cal. 2d at , 312 P.2d at The Powell court found the reasoning of several states compelling: [I]t nevertheless is a widely recognized rule that application for pretrial inspection of a signed confession or admission or transcript of statements of an accused may be made by the latter and is addressed to the sound judicial discretion of the trial court, which has inherent power to order such an inspection in the interest ofjustice. Id. at 708, 312 P.2d at 700 (citations omitted). Furthermore, the Powell court stated: The prosecuting attorney is both an officer of the state and of the court, and his duty extends no further than an impartial, fair, and just trial of defendant... That it was desired that the state's evidence remain undisclosed, partakes of the nature of a game,
18 482 AMERICAN UNiVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 48:465 concern of the United States Supreme Court for fairness in criminal procedure." 6 2 Subsequent cases in the California Supreme Court ended the decade by "catapulting California into [the] national lead in developing criminal discovery." In the absence of statutory guidancer 4 and initially encouraged by the federal courts,6 the California courts continued to decrease prosecutorial discretion to withhold discovery from the defense. To give effect to the "fundamental principle that an accused is entitled to a fair trial," California courts expanded 67 and protecteds the substance of defense rather than judicial procedure. The state in its might and power ought to be and is too jealous of according a defendant a fair and impartial trial to hinder him in intelligently preparing his defense and in availing himself of all competent material and relevant evidence that tends to throw light on the subject-matter on trial. Id. at 709, 312 P.2d at 701 (quoting State v. Tippett, 296 S.W. 132, 135 (Mo. 1927)); see also Walker v. Superior Court, 155 Cal. App. 2d 134, 140, 317 P.2d 130, 134 (1957) (holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in not permitting a pretrial inspection of a witness' statement in the sheriff's possession); Fletcher, supra note 49, at 302 ("For some years the California courts had acknowledged the trial court's power to grant inspection but had complacently affirmed trial court denials of pretrial inspections."). 62. SeePowel, 48 Cal. 2d at 708,312 P.2d at David W. Louisell, Criminal Discoveiy: Dilemma Real or Apparent?, 49 CAL. L. REV. 56, 75 (1961); see id. at 74 ("Federal criminal discovery, far from being the leader, is now a lagger, certainly vis-a-vis California."); see also LAFAvE & ISRAEL, supra note 12, at (discussing history, development, and application of fundamental fairness). "[I]t was not until the 1960s, almost 100 years after [the Fourteenth] Amendment's adoption, that the Court finally concluded that the amendment made applicable to the states most of those Bill of Rights guarantees relating to criminal procedure." Id. at 46. For example, it was not until 1963 that the U.S. Supreme Court held that a criminal defendant has a constitutional right to representation by counsel. See Gideon v. Wainright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963). 64. See LAFAVE & ISRAEL, supra note 12, at (discussing the historical debates surrounding the merits of discovery in criminal cases); see also L. DOUGLAS PIPES & WILLIAM E. GAGEN, JR., CALIFORNIA CRIMINAL DiscovERY 59 (1995) (noting that there were no statutes regulating criminal discovery in California before 1975). 65. See, e.g., Dennis v. United States, 384 U.S. 855, 873 (1966) ("In our adversarial system... it is rarely justifiable for the prosecution to have exclusive access to a storehouse of relevant fact." (citing numerous commentators favoring broadened defense discovery)); Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87 (1963) (stating, without reversing the conviction, that the suppression of a confession by the defendant's companion favorable to the defendant until after the defendant had been convicted and sentenced was a violation of due process); Roviaro v. United States, 353 U.S. 53, (1957) (holding that the defendant had a right to discover before trial the identity of an undercover government informer "[w]here the disclosure of an informer's identity... is relevant and helpful to the defense of an accused, or is essential to a fair determination of a cause"); see also Jencks v. United States, 353 U.S. 657, 667 (1957) (holding that evidence need only be "relevant, competent, and outside of any exclusionary rule" to be discoverable by the defense at trial (quoting Gordon v. United States, 344 U.S. 414, 420 (1953)). But see Brady, 373 U.S. at (finding that "trial strategy" was not raised to the level of a constitutional right for due process purposes); cfjenks Act, 18 U.S.C (1998) (responding to the Jencks decision by allowing witness statements to be discovered by the defense for impeachment purposes only); Traynor, supra note 49, at 241 (noting the reluctance of federal courts to order pretrial discovery). Various commentators have reviewed the history and impetus of trial courtjudges ordering discovery in criminal cases. 66. Cash v. Superior Court, 53 Cal. 2d 72, 75, 346 P.2d 407, 408 (1959) (allowing a defendant pretrial inspection and copying of his own conversations with a police officer). 67. For example, California courts recognized the fairness of permitting defendants to
19 19981 PROPOSITION inspect and copy recorded statements made to law enforcement officers in order to refresh their recollection in preparation for trial. SeeVance v. Superior Court, 51 Cal. 2d 92, 93, 330 P.2d 773, 775 (1958) (ordering pretrial disclosure to the defense of recorded statements by the complaining witness and the defendant to the police). The Vance court granted mandamus ordering that the defendant, who had been indicted, was entitled to listen to statements made by the complaining witness to the police as well as statements made by himself to police while listening to the complaining witness's tape. See id.; see also Cash, 53 Cal. 2d at 74, 346 P.2d at (ordering that the defense be allowed, before trial, to inspect and copy statements recorded between the defendant and a law enforcement officer posing as a prospective accomplice); Cordry v. Superior Court, 161 Cal. App. 2d 267, 269, 326 P.2d 222, 223 (1958) (granting mandamus for pretrial inspection by the defense of the defendant's statements to law enforcement); Schindler v. Superior Court, 161 Cal. App. 2d 513, , 327 P.2d 68, (1958) (allowing pretrial inspection of the defendant's own statement to police but denying inspection of the co-defendant's statement to police because neither defendant had been present during the other's statement), overruled by People v. Garner, 57 Cal. 2d 135, 142, 367 P.2d 680, 684 (1961) (holding that pretrial discovery extended to ajoint confession given by a defendant and his codefendant). The courts also ordered disclosure of written statements that witnesses made to the police. See Funk v. Superior Court, 52 Cal. 2d 423, 424,3 40 P.2d 593, 594 (1959) (allowing the defense, following a preliminary hearing, to inspect and copy witness statements made to the police). The court in Funk also found no sound basis to distinguish pretrial from trial discovery. See id. at 424, 340 P.2d at ; see also Tupper v. Superior Court, 51 Cal. 2d 263, 265, 331 P.2d 977, 978 (1958) (denying a writ of prohibition for a magistrate's decision to exclude statements to the police from the preliminary hearing because there was no presumption that the trial court would deny appropriate relief); Norton v. Superior Court, 173 Cal. App. 2d 133, , 343 P.2d 139, (1959) (granting pretrial disclosure of the names and addresses of three eyewitnesses learned of during a defense pretrial interview of the victim after noting that the defense did not know who they were). But see People v. Cooper, 53 Cal. 2d 755, 770, 349 P.2d 964, 973 (1960) (denying a "blanket" pretrial request by the defense for all statements in the possession of the prosecution). The court in Cooper reasoned that because the defense knew who the witnesses were and, therefore, had the opportunity to interview them, there was no indication that non-disclosure would harm the defense. See id. at 770, 349 P.2d at 973 (finding the defense needed a better cause for inspection than a mere desire to benefit from using information gained by the prosecution's efforts). The court noted, apparently with some disapproval of the delay, that the defendants had been indicted on June 11, 1959, and that an August 10 trial was set on July 29, but that the request for discovery was not made until July 31. See id. at 771,349 P.2d at 924. The California courts ordered disclosure of the identity of the informants. See Castiel v. Superior Court, 162 Cal. App. 2d 710, 711, 328 P.2d 476, 477 (1958) (granting mandamus ordering the prosecution to disclose the name of an informant who was a participant in the alleged crime to the defense prior to trial because the informant's identity was "material and substantial to an adequate defense"). The court affirmed its earlier decision, one that had reversed an earlier trial because the prosecution did not disclose to the defense the identity of the same informant. See id. The second Castiel court commented that nondisclosure prior to the second trial was only a delaying action designed to hinder defense preparation. See id. In its earlier decision, the Casteil court commented that undisclosed state's evidence constituted a game rather than ajudicial proceeding. See People v. Castiel, 153 Cal. App. 653, 315 P.2d 79, 81 (1957) (citing State v. Tippett, 296 S.W. 132, 135 (Mo. 1927)). The courts ordered disclosure of autopsy and lab reports, photographs, and physical evidence. SeeWalker v. Superior Court, 155 Cal. App. 2d 134, 139, 317 P.2d 130, (1957) (finding that because the defense showed good cause despite no inherent right to defense discovery, the defense should have access to an autopsy report and a lab report). The Walker court observed that the autopsy report was public information and the defense had no means of access to the information discussed in the lab report. See id. But see Schindler v. Superior Court, 161 Cal. App. 2d 513, 521, 327 P.2d 68, 74 (1958), overruled on other grounds by People v. Garner, 57 Cal. 2d 135, 367 P.2d 680 (1961) (declining to order that the defense have access to an autopsy report because the defendant had not requested access). However, the Schindler court did order that medical specimens taken from the body of the deceased be made available to the defense. See id. at ,327 P.2d at (noting that an independent examination of
20 484 AMERICAN UNIVERSrIY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 48:465 discovery, sanctioned violations,6 defined limitations, 7 and struck specimens might disprove the prosecution's theory of the cause of death). The court further held that the trial court's denial of a defense request to hire a pathologist at county expense was not an abuse of discretion because the trial court indicated it would do so if it were legal. See id. at 521, 327 P.2d at 74 (finding the decision to be solely within the discretion of the trial court). The courts ordered disclosure of photographs of the defendant for the purpose of impeaching a victim witness. See Norton v. Superior Court, 173 Cal. App. 133, 135, 343 P.2d 139, 140 (1959). At the preliminary hearing, the prosecutor had two pictures that the preliminary hearing witnesses had seen earlier. They had not been able to identify the defendant after viewing the pictures. The Norton court ordered the prosecutor to produce the pictures for the defense before trial. See id. (finding that petitioner had a legitimate reason to use the photographs). Pretrial discovery was extended to juvenile delinquency proceedings in SeeJoe Z. v. Superior Court, 3 Cal. 3d 803, 804, 478 P.2d 26, 30 (1970) (holding that a court in a juvenile proceeding had discretion to order the prosecution to disclose to the defense "a minor's statements, admissions, recorded conversations, and the notes and memoranda concerning those conversations... even though the minor fails to allege non-recollection"). While recognizing that Brady required disclosure of exculpatory information contained in statements of the minor's "co-defendants" whose cases were no longer pending, the court held that the prosecution had no duty to provide the defense with information regarding witnesses the prosecution did not intend to call at trial. See id. at 805, 478 P.2d at See, e.g., Walker, 155 Cal. App. at 141,317 P.2d at 134 (noting that the sheriff had told a witness not to discuss the case with anyone and stating that "a court can and should order [a] person to cease interfering with defense counsel's right to interview a witness"); Schindler v. Superior Court, 161 Cal. App. 2d 513, 327 P.2d 68 (1958) (ordering pretrial inspection of the defendant's own statement to the police, but denying inspection of the codefendant's statement), overruled by People v. Garner, 57 Cal. 2d 135, 367 P.2d 680 (1961). 69. See People v. McShann, 50 Cal. 2d 802, , 330 P.2d 33, 37 (1958) (reversing a conviction for failure to disclose the name of an informant during cross-examination); People v. Carter, 48 Cal. 2d 737, 312 P.2d 665 (1957) (reversing a capital case because the prosecution did not disclose to thedefense a statement by the defendant's wife made to the police that was used to cross-examine the wife at trial). The McShann court held that the informant became a material witness on the issue of guilt after the prosecution introduced telephone conversations involving the informant. See 50 Cal. 2d 802, , 330 P.2d 33, 37; People v. Durazo, 52 Cal. 2d 354, 355, 340 P.2d 594, 595 (1959) (en banc) (reversing a conviction for failure to disclose the name of an informant on cross-examination during trial); People v. Chapman, 52 Cal. 2d 95, 98-99, 338 P.2d 428, 430 (1959) (en banc) (reversing a conviction for failure by the prosecution to disclose a witness's statement prepared by the police and signed by the witness after the witness admitted the statement was related to the witness's trial testimony). The court in Chapman cited Jencks in holding that the defense is not required to show any inconsistency between the statement and trial testimony. See id. (stating that requiring proof of a conflict between a witness's two statements may deny the accused the benefit of relevant and material evidence). But cf. Mitchell v. Superior Court, 50 Cal. 2d 827, 830, 330 P.2d 48, 50 (1958) (en banc) (denying relief despite finding error in denying disclosure of the identity of two informants at a preliminary hearing because other competent evidence existed to support holding the defendant to answer for trial). 70. Limitations included requiring the defense to establish good cause, a concern for undue administrative burdens on the prosecution, the assertion of a privilege, and finding that the defense had equal access to the information. Concerns for defense perjury and fabricated defenses faded. See People v. Cooper, 53 Cal. 2d 755, 770, 349 P.2d 964, 973 (1960) (denying pretrial access by the defense to witness statements in the possession of the prosecution). The court in Cooper reasoned that because the defense knew the witnesses' identities and had the opportunity to interview them, there was no indication that non-disclosure would harm the defendant's case. See id.; see also People v. 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