| The federal government has a duty to disclose certain documents and evidence to the defendant. The federal government has a duty to provide the defendant with a copy of his prior criminal record. However, the only information that must be provided to the defendant with respect to his prior criminal record is that which shows which offense the defendant was convicted of. The federal government is not required to provide any other information with respect to the conviction.
Documents and Tangible Evidence
The federal government should disclose documents or other tangible evidence to the defendant under three circumstances. The circumstances include:
- The evidence is material to the defendant. Material evidence is defined as evidence that directly relates to the defendant's argument in response to the federal government's case.
- The federal government intends to admit the documentary or other tangible evidence during the defendant's criminal trial.
- The evidence was obtained from or belonged to the defendant.
The federal government is not required to anticipate what the defendant intends to use as a defense or rebuttal argument in his case.
Disclosure of Reports and Test Results
The federal government is required to disclose any test results or reports that are material to the defendant. The government must also disclose any test results or reports that it intends to use during the defendant's criminal trial.
Expert Witnesses
The federal government is required to provide the name of any expert witness and a written summary regarding any expert testimony that it intends to use during the defendant's criminal trial. The summary should include:
- the expert's opinions,
- the expert's rationale,
- the expert's biographical information and
- the expert's qualifications.
Compliance with the Defendant's Request for Production of Evidence
The federal government may provide the defendant with a collection of documents or volumes of documents, so long as they are not unreasonably burdensome. A single document or tangible evidence may also be provided to the defendant upon his request.
There are materials that the federal government is not required to disclose to the defendant. Any reports, memos or other internal documents are not required to be disclosed to the defendant. Further, the federal government is not required to disclose witness statements, except as specifically provided under the applicable federal statute. Copyright 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. |