Judge Angelini scolds prosecutors over missing discovery, sets uniform plea and offer deadlines

Presiding Judge Angelini told prosecutors on the courthouse docket that she will no longer accept indictments without the underlying discovery and set firm plea and offer deadlines in several cases, after several defense attorneys said evidence from law enforcement had not been produced. The admonition came during routine docket calls when multiple defense lawyers said they lacked key materials needed to evaluate offers or prepare motions.

The judge said she did not understand why “cases are being indicted and evidence is not in hand,” and ordered multiple 30- to 45-day resets with specific dates for the state to tender plea offers and for defense to be ready to proceed. The court directed the state to produce outstanding discovery or face motions from the defense, and warned that the court would consider traditional remedies if materials were not provided on time.

Why this matters: Defense counsel said recurring discovery delays have forced repeated plea-deadline extensions and have kept defendants in limbo. Judge Angelini said timely disclosure is essential both to defendants’ rights and to the efficient administration of justice.

At the hearing the court set concrete dates in several cases: a 45-day reset and an offer deadline in a case where counsel told the court discovery had only recently been delivered on USB (case referenced at docket time), a 30-day deadline in another matter where the state told the court it expected additional materials, and multiple plea-deadline recalls in late October and November where discovery remained outstanding. The court told the state to be prepared to tender offers on the announced dates and said any remaining discovery not produced by then would be the subject of defensive motions.

The court also clarified that certain discovery problems would be handled by motion practice if not resolved: if the defense lacks access to specific items, the court said it will entertain motions to compel or other relief at the next setting. The judge admonished all parties to communicate discovery issues to the clerk’s office in advance, and to notify the court through the assigned court coordinator if a motion to resolve an outstanding disclosure is needed.

Court staff and lawyers who spoke during the docket included the court coordinator who entered reset dates and the state’s prosecutors who acknowledged outstanding items and the need to collect evidence from law enforcement and upload it to the defense. The court used specific case examples during its remarks to illustrate the recurring pattern and to explain that the court expects remedial action on the dates it set.

The court recessed the calendar at noon for a scheduled jury trial and reiterated that if matters were not taken up that day they would be reset to the announced dates. The judge repeatedly instructed prosecutors and defense counsel to verify disclosure on the record before the next plea deadline.