Discovery in DNA Cases
One of the most time-consuming aspects of prosecution can be responding to criminal discovery demands involving DNA evidence and expert witnesses. Errors in handling discovery requests can result in the exclusion of evidence, reversal of convictions or the imposition of other sanctions.Prosecutors are often unfamiliar with the type of records maintained by crime laboratories, the media used to store them and any restrictions on disclosure that exist by law or policy. Effective prosecutors know that “non-crisis” planning, good communication and ample response times are essential to proper discovery. A consistent jurisdictional policy that provides for a response that is timely, uniform, and comprehensive—and that does not place an undue burden on the lab—is a worthwhile investment. Such a policy could consider report content, mutually-agreeable responses to omnibus and irregular defense requests, and/or mutually-agreeable responses to ethical issues best remedied in discovery.
Developing a policy regarding report content should include two situations that are mutually exclusive yet always occurring: there is either sample consumption or remaining sample available for testing.
Content on this page has been excerpted from DNA Evidence Policy Considerations for the Prosecutor, published by the American Prosecutors Research Institute—the nonprofit research, training and technical assistance affiliate of the National District Attorneys' Association. This information is offered for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. This project was supported by Award No. 2002-DD-BX-0005, from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice.
