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Committee clears bill to require state disclosure of inculpatory, exculpatory or neutral evidence to criminal defendants
Summary
Senate Bill 579 would statutorily require the state to disclose to criminal defendants evidence in its possession whether inculpatory, exculpatory, or neutral; proponents said the statutory clarity is needed despite court rules, while prosecutors’ representatives said existing court rules already cover discovery obligations.
Senator Clark introduced SB 579 to require disclosure of evidence in the possession of the state to criminal defendants where evidence is inculpatory, exculpatory, or neither, and for other purposes. The sponsor said defense attorneys brought the proposal to him because they thought statutory clarity was desirable even though court rules exist.
Bob McMahon, representing the Prosecutor Coordinators and prosecutor associations, told the committee most of the bill’s aims are already addressed by existing court rules (Rule 17 and related discovery rules) and federal and state case law governing disclosure of exculpatory information. He described the bill as duplicative of judicial rules but said the association would provide input.
After brief discussion the committee voted to pass the bill to the next stage.
