ONGOING DUTY TO DISCLOSE

 

Imbler v. Pachtman
424 U.S. 409 (1976)
 

"[A]fter a conviction the prosecutor also is bound by the ethics of his office to inform the appropriate authority of after-acquired or other information that casts doubt upon the correctness of the conviction. Cf. ABA Code of Professional Responsibility § EC 7-13 (1969); ABA, Standards, supra, § 3.11. Indeed, the record in this case suggests that respondent's recognition of this duty led to the post-conviction hearing which in turn resulted ultimately in the District Court's granting of the writ of habeas corpus."

Bowen v. Maynard
799 F.2d 593 (10th Cir. 1986)
 

"We also agree, and the State concedes, that the duty to disclose is ongoing and extends to all stages of the judicial process."

Thomas v. Goldsmith
979 F.2d 746 (9th Cir. 1992)
 

"We do not refer to the state's past duty to turn over exculpatory evidence at trial, but to its present duty to turn over exculpatory evidence relevant to the instant habeas corpus proceeding."

High v. Head,
209 F.3d 1257 (11th Cir. 2000)

The State's duty to disclose exculpatory material is ongoing.

Osborne v. District Attorney’s Office for Third Judicial Dist.,
423 F.3d 1050 (9th Cir. 2005)

Heck v. Humphrey rule did not preclude § 1983 action filed by state prisoner seeking to compel state to release certain biological evidence that was used to convict him for DNA testing.

United States v. Piers,
2005 WL 2122126 (D. Alaska. July 25, 2005)

In § 2255 proceeding where petitioner sought full discovery of prosecution and law enforcement files, court found that petitioner was entitled to have prosecutor revisit files for any Brady material that was not disclosed during trial, including: evidence of any “side deals,” evidence regarding decision whether to prosecute chief witness’ sister, certain fingerprint evidence, and evidence related to a person named “Adam” known to law enforcement with regard to this case. In camera review was not deemed necessary unless prosecutor attempted to rely on work product privilege. Law enforcement officers were also ordered to provide affidavits indicating compliance with Brady.

Osborne v. District Attorney’s Office for Third Judicial Dist.,
445 F.Supp.2d 1079 (D. Alaska 2006)

In § 1983 action by state prisoner seeking access to biological evidence for DNA testing, district court found that “there does exist, under the unique and specific facts presented, a very limited constitutional right to the testing sought.” In reaching this conclusion, the district court noted: (1) such testing was not available at the time of trial; (2) the testing can be easily performed without cost or prejudice to the Government; and (3) the test results would either confirm the prisoner’s guilt or provide evidence for him to use to seek a new trial.

People v. Garcia
17 Cal.App.4th 1169, 22 Cal.Rptr.2d 545 (Cal. App. 1993)
 

"The duty of disclosure . . . does not end when the trial is over. '[A]fter a conviction the prosecutor also is bound by the ethics of his office to inform the appropriate authority of after-acquired or other information that casts doubt upon the correctness of the conviction.' Imbler v. Pachtman, 424 U.S. 409, 427, fn. 25 (1976); see also People v. Gonzalez, 51 Cal.3d 1179, 1261 (1990); rule 5-220, Rules Prof. Conduct of State Bar; ABA Model Code Prof. Responsibility, DR 7-103(B), EC 7-13; ABA Model Rules Prof. Conduct, rule 3.8(d)."

State v. Bennett
81 P.3d 1 (Nev. 2003)
 

"The State, of course, has an affirmative duty to provide favorable evidence, if material, to a defendant even absent a request for the evidence. Moreover, that duty exists regardless of whether the State uncovers the evidence before trial, during trial, or after the defendant has been convicted." at 9 (footnotes omitted.)

Canion v. Cole
91 P.3d 355 (Az. App. 2004)
 

"The defendant's right to due process with regard to the disclosure of exculpatory evidence does not cease to exist after the verdict is rendered; the prosecution has a continuing duty to provide such evidence as was unlawfully withheld, including in the context of a PCR proceeding." "On the record before us, it appears that Canion has shown good cause and made colorable allegations of newly discovered materials suggesting that evidence that should have been disclosed to him was not. The trial court erred by not considering his claims in the light of the State's continuing duty to disclose such information as due process requires."

People v. Sterling,
787 N.Y.S.2d 846 (2004)

Because the state constitution’s due process clause required the state to provide continuing discovery of material evidence, the application for DNA testing of person convicted in 1992 should be heard. One portion of the evidence that the applicant requested had some likelihood of being exculpatory and so it was ordered to be produced and the parties were to agree on a testing protocol. Costs of testing were assigned to the applicant.

People v. Rawl,
2005 WL 2374747 (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 28, 2005) (unpublished)

In drunk driving case where defendant learned after his conviction on three of four counts that law enforcement had launched an investigation of the officer who operated the spectrometer in his case for alleged mistakes in drug analysis in other cases, the court of appeal noted that the state’s continuing duty to disclose meant that a Brady violation could have occurred despite the fact that the State was not aware of the officer’s misconduct until after the conclusion of trial. On the particular facts, however, it concluded no Brady violation had occurred.

Duckett v. State,
918 So.2d 224 (Fla. 2005), cert. denied, Duckett v. Florida, 127 S.Ct. 103 (2006)

Noting existence of continuing duty to disclose, but finding that under the circumstances of this case, petitioner’s Brady/Kyles motions would be successive.