Title: Prosecutor’s Obligation to Disclose Exculpatory Evidence - Pioneer Law Office
Headings: Prosecutor’s Obligation to Disclose Exculpatory Evidence
Prosecutor’s Obligation to Disclose Exculpatory Evidence
The Brady case: the prosecutor must disclose exculpatory evidence
Arguing that the evidence is material
Demanding Brady material
Timing of Brady disclosures
Rules of Professional Conduct
A production order allows sanctions

Content: Prosecutor’s Obligation to Disclose Exculpatory Evidence - Pioneer Law Office
Prosecutor’s Obligation to Disclose Exculpatory Evidence
The Brady case: the prosecutor must disclose exculpatory evidence
In a case called Brady, the Supreme Court held that the due process clause obligates the prosecution to disclose to the defense any material evidence favorable on the issues of guilt or punishment. Evidence is exculpatory if it tends to disprove your guilt, whether by: Showing your innocence. Undermining the credibility of government witnesses. Tending to mitigate the punishment. This obligation (referred to as a Brady obligation) extends beyond searching the prosecutor’s own file to producing information possessed by police agencies which participated in the investigation or prosecution. The prosecution team will be charged with knowledge of a police officer’s criminality where the officer was part of the team, even if the officer concealed that criminal conduct from the prosecutor. Arguing that the evidence is material
The materiality requirement is a constant obstacle to criminal defense attorneys in obtaining Brady disclosures. Evidence “is material only if there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the outcome would have been different.”