''Brady'' disclosure consists of
exculpatory
Exculpatory evidence is evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal trial that exonerates or tends to exonerate the defendant of guilt. It is the opposite of inculpatory evidence, which tends to present guilt.
In many countries, includi ...
or
impeaching information and evidence that is material to the guilt or innocence or to the punishment of a defendant. The term comes from the 1963
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case ''
Brady v. Maryland
''Brady v. Maryland'', 373 U.S. 83 (1963), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that established that the prosecution must turn over all evidence that might exonerate the defendant ( exculpatory evidence) to the defense. '', in which the Supreme Court ruled that suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to a defendant who has requested it violates
due process
Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...
.
Following ''Brady'', the prosecutor must disclose evidence or information that would prove the innocence of the defendant or would enable the defense to more effectively impeach the credibility of government witnesses. Evidence that would serve to reduce the defendant's sentence must also be disclosed by the prosecution. In practice this doctrine has often proved difficult to enforce. Some states have established their own laws to try to strengthen enforcement against prosecutorial misconduct in this area.
Definition of the ''Brady'' rule
The ''Brady'' doctrine is a
pretrial discovery
Discovery, in the law of common law jurisdictions, is a pre-trial procedure in a lawsuit in which each party, through the law of civil procedure, can obtain evidence from the other party or parties by means of discovery devices such as inter ...
rule that was established by the United States Supreme Court in ''Brady v. Maryland'' (1963). The rule requires that the prosecution must turn over all exculpatory evidence to the
defendant
In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case.
Terminology varies from one jurisdic ...
in a
criminal case
Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...
. Exculpatory
evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field.
In epistemology, evidenc ...
is evidence that might exonerate the defendant.
Examples
Examples include the following:
* The prosecutor must disclose an agreement not to prosecute a witness in exchange for the witness's testimony.
* The prosecutor must disclose leniency (or preferential treatment) agreements made with witnesses in exchange for testimony.
* The prosecutor must disclose
exculpatory evidence
Exculpatory evidence is evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal trial that exonerates or tends to exonerate the defendant of guilt. It is the opposite of inculpatory evidence, which tends to present guilt.
In many countries, including ...
known only to the police. That is, the prosecutor has a duty to reach out to the police and establish regular procedures by which the police inform the prosecutor's office of anything that tends to prove the innocence of the defendant. Not all exculpatory evidence is required to be disclosed by Brady and its progeny; only evidence that is "material to guilt or punishment" must be disclosed because its disclosure would create a reasonable probability of changing the outcome of the proceeding. The prosecutor is not obligated to ''personally'' review police files in search of exculpatory information when the defendant asks for it, but to allow the defense reasonable access. The Supreme Court observed in ''
Strickler v. Greene'', "Thus the term 'Brady violation' is sometimes used to refer to any breach of the broad obligation to disclose exculpatory evidence – that is, to any suppression of so-called 'Brady material' – although strictly speaking, there is never a real 'Brady violation' unless the nondisclosure was so serious that there is a reasonable probability that the suppressed evidence would have produced a different verdict."
* The prosecutor must disclose arrest photographs of the defendant when those photos do not match the victim's description.
* Some state systems have expansively defined Brady material to include many other items, including for example any documents which might reflect negatively on a witness's credibility.
* Police officers who have been dishonest are sometimes referred to as "Brady cops." Because of the Brady ruling, prosecutors are required to notify defendants and their attorneys whenever a law enforcement official involved in their case has a sustained record for knowingly lying in an official capacity. The growing use of Brady, both in the federal and state sectors, is one of the most important changes affecting police officers' employment.
Procedures for compliance
* In order to ensure compliance with ''Brady'', the United States Supreme Court repeatedly urged the "careful prosecutor" to favor disclosure over concealment. Conformity with ''Brady'' is a continuing obligation of prosecutors. Some prosecuting attorney offices have adopted and created specialized procedure and bureaus to meet their burden.
* ''Pitchess v. Superior Court'' is the source for a "
Pitchess motion
A ''Pitchess'' motion is a request made by the defense in a California criminal case, such as a DUI case or a resisting arrest case, to access a law enforcement officer's personnel information when the defendant alleges in an affidavit that the o ...
" in California. Such a motion can be made by a criminal defendant to discover complaints made against a police officer, and the investigation of those complaints, such that they are contained in the officer's personnel records. The motions can be made in a
California Superior Court
Superior courts in California are the state trial courts with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a governmental agency. As mandated by t ...
under California Evidence Code 1043-1046.
[Cal. Evid. Code §Â]
1043-1046
Notwithstanding, because the broad nature of the discovery that the associated court rule and statute provide, getting actual records can be complicated. In California, there is a carefully prescribed procedure governing such request, and making disclosure without an order is a crime. The statutory scheme was developed, in part, because law enforcement departments had developed a practice of purging their files concerning misconduct claims made against their officers.
See also
* ''
Giglio v. United States''
*
Jencks Act In the United States, the Jencks Act () provides that the prosecutor is required to produce a verbatim statement or report made by a government witness or prospective government witness (other than the defendant), but only after the witness has test ...
* ''
Jencks v. United States
''Jencks v. United States'', 353 U.S. 657 (1957), is a U.S. Supreme Court case. The court held that the government must produce documents relied upon by government witnesses in federal criminal procedures.
The petitioner, Clinton Jencks appealed, ...
''
*
Testilying
Police perjury is the act of a police officer knowingly giving false testimony. It is typically used in a criminal trial to "make the case" against defendants believed by the police to be guilty when irregularities during the suspects' arrest or ...
References
Further reading
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* https://www.justipedia.com/definition/1487/brady-rule Definition of Brady Rule in relation to criminal proceedings
{{Miscarriage of Justice
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United States constitutional criminal procedure
Legal doctrines and principles
Criminal law legal terminology