The Brady Rule is a legal doctrine that applies to all levels of the criminal justice system in the United States, including judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials. The rule requires these officials to disclose any exculpatory or witness impeaching evidence in their possession to the defense in a criminal case.
Judges have an obligation to ensure that the prosecution complies with the Brady Rule and to ensure that the defense has access to all evidence that may be favorable to the accused and possibly material to guilt or punishment. This means that judges may order the prosecution to disclose such evidence, and may even dismiss the charges against the defendant if the prosecution fails to be forthcoming.
Prosecutors have a duty to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense in a timely manner, even if it is not requested by the defense. This includes evidence that could impeach the credibility of prosecution witnesses. Prosecutors must disclose this evidence before trial, so that the defense has a fair opportunity to investigate and use the evidence at trial. A recent survey by USA Today disclosed the 71% of prosecutors do not keep a Brady List. Prosecutors that fail to fulfill their obligation are in direct violation of Rule of Professional Conduct 3.8: Special Responsibilities of a Prosecutor.
Law enforcement officials also have an obligation to disclose exculpatory evidence to the prosecution and thereby the defense. This commonly includes evidence that may have been gathered during the investigation, such as witness statements, physical evidence, or surveillance footage; but, this also include impeachment evidence relative to any individuals upon whose testimony will be relied, most specifically law enforcement officers.
The Brady Rule imposes obligations not only on judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials but also on defense counsel. Defense counsel has an obligation to make reasonable efforts to obtain all exculpatory or impeaching evidence that is in the possession of the prosecution or law enforcement officials and a requirement to seek remediation. Overall, the Brady Rule imposes a duty on all participants in the criminal justice system to ensure that the defendant receives a fair trial and is not wrongfully convicted.
Defense counsel need not make a timely request for such evidence. The prosecution is required to disclose exculpatory, or impeaching, evidence to the defense even if the defense does not make a specific request for it. Therefore, defense counsel must be vigilant in identifying potentially exculpatory or impeaching evidence and making a timely demand for such evidence up to and including a remedy for the failure to disclose.
Remedies
The remedies in a criminal trial under Brady depend on the nature and extent of the Brady violation. Generally, there are two types of remedies: pretrial and post-trial.
Pretrial remedies can include a Motion to Compel the prosecution to disclose Brady material, a Motion for a Continuance to allow the defense time to investigate newly disclosed Brady material, and a Motion for a Dismissal of charges for the prosecution's failure to comply with the Brady Rule.
Post-trial remedies are available if a Brady violation was not discovered until after the trial or if the prosecution withheld evidence intentionally. These remedies can include a new trial, a reversal of the conviction, or a sentence reduction.
In cases where the prosecution willfully or intentionally withheld Brady material, the prosecution may also face sanctions or disciplinary action, such as being held in contempt of court or being subject to disciplinary proceedings by the state bar under the Rules of Professional Conduct 3.8: Special Responsibilities of the Prosecutor.
Ultimately, the appropriate remedy will depend on the specific circumstances of the case and the severity of the Brady violation. The goal of any remedy is to ensure that the defendant receives a fair trial and is not wrongfully convicted due to the prosecution's failure to disclose exculpatory evidence.
If the defense receives exculpatory or impeaching evidence, defense counsel must also act in good faith to use that evidence at trial or in pretrial proceedings. Failure to use such evidence may be considered ineffective assistance of counsel, which could be grounds for an appeal or post-conviction relief.
A Motion to Dismiss for Failure to Prosecute in a criminal case is a legal request made by the defense counsel to dismiss the charges against the defendant due to the prosecution's failure to move forward with the case. This motion can be filed if the prosecution fails to take timely action, such as not filing charges within the statute of limitations, not appearing in court, or failing to conduct pretrial discovery in a timely manner.
