Pretrial Discovery and Inspection. Before any disclosure or discovery can be sought under these rules by either party, counsel for the parties shall make a good faith effort to resolve all questions of discovery, and to provide information required or requested under these rules as to which there is no dispute.
Rule 573. Pretrial Discovery and Inspection. Before any disclosure or discovery can be sought under these rules by either party, counsel for the parties shall make a good faith effort to resolve all questions of discovery, and to provide information required or requested under these rules as to which there is no dispute.
The pretrial motion stage is an important, strategic step in a criminal trial. The results may narrow issues for trial, aid in plea negotiations, provide vital information, or even end the case. Here are some questions you may want to ask your attorney:
A judge who concludes that evidence or a statement was obtained in violation of the defendant’s constitutional rights will exclude it from the trial unless the government can establish that a legal exception to the exclusionary rule applies.
Pretrial Discovery and Inspection. Before any disclosure or discovery can be sought under these rules by either party, counsel for the parties shall make a good faith effort to resolve all questions of discovery, and to provide information required or requested under these rules as to which there is no dispute.
For example, a prepared report ordinarily would not be necessary when the expert is known to the parties and testifies about the same subject on a regular basis. On the other hand, a report might be necessary if the expert is not known to the parties or is going to testify about a new or controversial technique.
Such motion shall be made within 14 days after arraignment, unless the time for filing is extended by the court.
Disclosure shall not be required of legal research or of records, correspondence, reports, or memoranda to the extent that they contain the opinions, theories, or conclusions of the attorney for the Commonwealth or the attorney for the defense, or members of their legal staffs. Comment.
The attorney for the Commonwealth should not charge the defendant for the costs of copying pretrial discovery materials. However, nothing in this rule is intended to preclude the attorney for the Commonwealth, on a case-by-case basis, from requesting an order for the defendant to pay the copying costs.
When the grand jury votes to indict the defendant, the vote to indict is the functional equivalent of holding the defendant for court following a preliminary hearing. In these cases, the matter will proceed in the same manner as when the defendant is held for court following a preliminary hearing.
In addition to the release criteria set forth in this rule, in domestic violence cases under Section 2711 of the Crimes Code, 18 Pa.C.S. § 2711, the bail authority must also consider whether the defendant poses a threat of danger to the victim.
When a defendant is arrested without a warrant, it is the arrest itself which institutes proceedings, followed by the filing of a complaint. For the filing of a complaint in summary cases, see Chapter 4, Part C, Procedures in Summary Cases When Complaint is Filed.
Under any system of scheduling, once a hearing or argument is scheduled, the court or court administrator must give notice of the hearing or argument to the parties, and a copy of the notice must be filed in the criminal case file and a docket entry made. See Rule 114 (C) (2).
All motions, answers, and briefs must conform to the following requirements: (1) The document shall be on 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch paper. (2) The document shall be prepared on white paper (except for dividers and similar sheets) of good quality.
Criminal proceedings in court cases are instituted by 1) the filing of a complaint, followed by the issuance of a summons or arrest warrant; or by 2) a warrantless arrest, followed by the filing of a complaint. For the definition of ‘‘court case,’’ see Rule 103.
In any case in which a summary offense is joined with a misdemeanor, felony, or murder charge, and therefore is part of the court case, when an appeal of a pretrial disposition of the misdemeanor, felony, or murder charge is taken, disposition of the summary offense should be delayed pending the appeal.
A party may through interrogatories or by deposition require any other party to identify each person who may be used at trial to present evidence under Articles 702 through 705 of the Louisiana Laws of Evidence. B.
For good cause shown, the court may allow live testimony at the contradictory hearing. (3) If the ruling of the court is made at the conclusion of the hearing, the court shall recite orally its findings of fact, conclusions of law, and reasons for judgment.
Before a criminal trial begins, both the prosecution and defense have the opportunity to file pretrial motions. These motions can affect many issues, such as the location of the trial, introduction or exclusion of evidence or testimony, and which charges will be tried.
Motion to Suppress. With a motion to suppress, an attorney asks the judge to exclude certain evidence or testimony from the trial. Typically, this request is based on the "exclusionary rule," which prohibits the prosecutor from introducing evidence that was illegally obtained.
If the criminal charges resulted in widespread pretrial publicity, the defense might seek a change of venue to protect the defendant’s right to an impartial trial. Other reasons for a motion for change of venue include improper venue ...
If the criminal statute is unconstitutional, it cannot be used as a basis to convict. If granted, dismissal is the best-case scenario for a defendant. It means the defendant doesn’t have to go through the expense and embarrassment of a trial.
The judge —not the jury—decides pretrial motions. Some common pretrial motions are: motion to suppress (evidence or testimony) motion to compel (production of evidence or testimony) motion for a change of venue (trial location), and. motion to dismiss (charges or the case).
The general rule is that the prosecution must disclose exculpatory and impeachment evidence within a reasonable time to allow the defendant to use it in trial.
Impeachment evidence may be delayed because of decisions by the prosecution on which witnesses will testify against the defendant. A defendant is entitled to impeachment evidence (e.g., statements that are inconsistent with trial testimony) for any witnesses expected to testify against the defendant at trial.
Inculpatory evidence is necessary to obtain a conviction against a defendant, which triggers certain mandatory minimum penalties at the U.S. federal level. Though with the First Step Act, non-violent offenders can take advantage of the safety valve provision and secure a more lenient sentence.
Evidence generally falls into three categories, inculpatory, exculpatory, and impeachment.
The US Attorney will disclose exculpatory evidence almost immediately during the discovery process. However, federal law does not require impeachment evidence, such as a prior inconsistent statement, to be tendered until the trial. See 18 USC 3500 (the Jencks Act).
NOTE: This entry features content updated to reflect changes to U.S. federal law after passage of the First Step Act (P.L. 115- 391) on December 21, 2018. Since that date, the First Step Act has helped reduce recidivism, provide incentives for success, and institute corrections/sentencing reforms.
For example, a witness testifying against the defendant could change their story at trial and contradict their previous statements made under oath. This may not prove innocence, but it does weaken the government’s case against the defendant. Due process requires the disclosure of impeachment evidence as well.
At various stages in a criminal case the prosecution must fulfil its duties for pre trial disclosure as this is critical to the defendant’s right to a fair trial. In order for the defendant to properly prepare a defence he must be made aware of the evidence against him. Therefore it is wrong for the prosecution to withhold evidence that weaken their case as their wider obligation is not to mislead the court and to ensure that a miscarriage of justice does not occur. The right to pre trial disclosure is also enshrined in the ECHR Art 6 (1) and Art 6 3 (b).
There will be occasions where the prosecution will claim that they cannot disclose evidence to the defence because it would be damaging to the wider public interest. If the court rules that this is the case then the prosecution can withhold this information or order the witness not to answer questions on the matter. Examples of material that might be covered by PII include documents relating to national security, confidential information, the identity of police informants and undercover police officers, details for premises used for police surveillance and information pertaining to the welfare of children. The procedure for claiming immunity is an inter partes application where the prosecution is required to notify the defence that they are applying to the court for a ruling and to indicate the type of material over which they are claiming PII. The court will hear submissions from both parties and then decide whether or not the information would be disclosed.