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Topic: Exculpatory evidence

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	USCA6 Opinion 01a0255p.06
		For evidence to meet the standard of constitutional materiality, it "must both possess an exculpatory value that was apparent before the evidence was destroyed, and be of such a nature that the defendant would be unable to obtain comparable evidence by other reasonably available means." Id.
		Because that evidence was only potentially useful and the government did not act in bad faith by failing to preserve it, Wright's due process right to access exculpatory evidence was not violated.
		The heart of Wright's argument is that the destruction of electrical evidence prevented his expert from conducting future tests, the results of which may have exonerated him by showing that an electrical malfunction could have been the cause of the fire.
	www.michbar.org /opinions/us_appeals/2001/080301/11085.html (1882 words)

	02-2433 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-14)
		Further, the prosecutor stated she did not believe that the evidence was exculpatory, as it was not admissible under Pulizzano because B.M.M.'s allegations against Harris did not demonstrate that B.M.M. possessed an unusual level of sexual knowledge for a child of her age.
		Harris asserts that the undisclosed evidence was "favorable to the accused" because it was directly relevant to the credibility of B.M.M., as she could have projected her grandfather's assault onto him.
		Here, the undisclosed information is not directly exculpatory in the sense that DNA evidence might be because the fact that B.M.M. had alleged being previously sexually assaulted by her grandfather does not, in and of itself, tend to negate Harris's guilt regarding the separate assault that B.M.M. alleged he committed.
	www.courts.state.wi.us /html/sc/02/02-2433.htm (8335 words)

	[No title]
		The court stated that two categories of evidence in the government's possession constituted "substantial exculpatory evidence" that had been withheld from the grand jury: (1) the bankruptcy deposition, in which respondent explained his financial accounting methods, and (2) various financial statements, tax records, accounting ledgers, and other documents prepared by respondent and his accountants.
		A duty to present "exculpatory" evidence relevant to a "possible" theory of defense in that situation confronts the prosecutor with the dilemma of presenting all conceivable evidence that may support some hypothetical defense, or risking protracted pretrial litigation that will scrutinize the grand jury record and that could result in dismissal of the indictment.
		But the question whether particular evidence of intent is exculpatory or not should be reserved for the finder of fact at trial; it is not an issue that should be decided by a court as a matter of law, and certainly not on the necessarily incomplete record that typically accompanies a pretrial proceeding.
	www.usdoj.gov /osg/briefs/1990/sg900018.txt (3931 words)

	liibulletin: People v. Primo (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-14)
		Evidence that a person other than the defendant committed the charged crime is admissible if its probative value outweighs the risk of delay, undue prejudice, or jury confusion.
		Evidence that another person committed the charged crime is admissible when it's probative value outweighs the risk of delay, undue prejudice, or jury confusion.
		The defendant "must show: (1) clear and convincing evidence that the third-party participated in the [crime]; (2) that the [actions of the third-party] are relevant and material to the defendant's case; and (3) that the probative value of the [third party culpability evidence] outweighs its potential for unfair prejudice." Minnesota v.
	straylight.law.cornell.edu /nyctap/comments/i01_0073.htm (1648 words)

	USCA6 Opinion 02a0184p.06
		The evidence essentially consists of a series of discrepancies between the physical characteristics of Jamison and Howell and the descriptions of the perpetrators of the Central Bar murder given to police investigators by eyewitnesses.
		The Pony shoe evidence is, alone, insufficient to produce a conviction--although Jamison was apprehended for the Gold Star Chili robbery wearing Pony shoes, these were not identical to the print found at the Central Bar scene.
		The evidence above, taken together, presents a significant challenge to the prosecution's theory of the case: that Howell and Jamison robbed the Central Bar on the spur of the moment, and that Jamison kicked Mitchell to death.
	www.michbar.org /opinions/us_appeals/2002/052302/15084.html (4267 words)

	[No title]
		We hold the evidence did not establish the Commonwealth should have known the existence of the knife or the location from which it was seized was exculpatory evidence.
		However, the existence of the knife was not inherently exculpatory, and nothing in the record indicates the Commonwealth should have been aware prior to trial that appellant was proceeding on a theory of self-defense.
		Nixon, 418 U.S. When the evidence proves, as here, that "[t]he right to explore and develop this evidence was critical to the defendant's case," the failure to grant his motion for a continuance is an abuse of discretion.
	www.courts.state.va.us /opinions/opncavtx/2579991.txt (3038 words)

	124 Wn.2d 467, STATE v. WITTENBARGER
		In order to be considered "material exculpatory evidence", the evidence must both possess an exculpatory value that was apparent before it was destroyed and be of such a nature that the defendant would be unable to obtain comparable evidence by other reasonably available means.
		Evidence of the unauthorized contacts could be used by the defense as rebuttal evidence to attack the credibility of the breath test results.
		Later, in Youngblood, the Court added the caveat that when the evidence sought by the defense is not "material exculpatory" evidence, but is nonetheless potentially useful to the defense, the defendant must demonstrate the police acted in bad faith in failing to preserve the evidence.
	www.mrsc.org /mc/courts/supreme/124wn2d/124wn2d0467.htm (10978 words)

	Critical to Your Defense: Specific Requests for Exculpatory Evidence
		A prosecutor's duty, however, extends only to exculpatory evidence in the prosecutor's possession or in the possession of the police who participated in the investigation and presentation of the case.
		If the evidence is exculpatory, it is also material in the general evidentiary sense that it is material (and relevant) to an issue in the case.
		To that Court, evidence is material in the sense that its absence mattered or might have mattered in the trial of the case.
	www.falseallegations.com /specific.htm (5023 words)

	Issues in Case Management
		The government did not suppress allegedly material exculpatory information which was in hands of other governmental agencies where the government was unaware of existence of that information and the other agencies were not part of the team that investigated case or participated in its prosecution.
		Actions of police in mistakenly destroying “rape kit” evidence during course of investigation did not result in violation of due process rights of the defendant (who was ultimately charged with rape), where evidence was only potentially useful prior to testing, and no bad faith was shown.
		Police officer’s destruction of blood-spattered overalls which were represented by person who brought them to officer to be evidence in a first-degree murder prosecution did not deny defendant due process, absent any showing that overalls were exculpatory or a showing of bad faith on the officer’s part.
	www.aele.org /risher.html (3770 words)

	WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS, SUPPRESSION OF EXCULPATORY EVIDENCE, EXPERT TESTIMONY (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-14)
		The civil rights claim was based on evidence that the officers had induced three witnesses to falsely identify him as the killer, and then kept secret the evidence of how the identifications were obtained.
		Here the court held that the evidence showed that the officers not only manipulated the identifications (which the court says would not by itself support an award of damages), but obstructed the ability of prosecutors and defense counsel to get at the truth in the criminal trial, which does establish the constitutional violation.
		Noting that recollection is suggestible and that the weaknesses of eyewitness identifications have been studied by psychologists, the court held that the experiment was a legitimate method to determine whether there had been manipulation in the original identification of plaintiff.
	www.nlg.org /npap/recent_Ct_Appeals/newsomeVmccabe03.htm (505 words)

	R. v. Arcuri (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-14)
		Where the Crown adduces direct evidence on all the elements of the offence, the case must proceed to trial, regardless of the existence of defence evidence, as the only conclusion that needs to be reached is whether the evidence is true.
		The Crown's position was that the task of weighing circumstantial inculpatory evidence against direct exculpatory evidence is a task for the jury, not the preliminary inquiry judge.
		Where the Crown adduces direct evidence on all the elements of the offence, the case must proceed to trial, regardless of the existence of defence evidence, as by definition the only conclusion that needs to be reached is whether the evidence is true.
	www.lexum.umontreal.ca /csc-scc/en/pub/2001/vol2/html/2001scr2_0828.html (5372 words)

	SSRN-The Prosecutor's Ethical Duty to Seek Exculpatory Evidence in Police Hands: Lessons From England by Stanley Fisher
		Maryland to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense, even if the police have not revealed the evidence to the prosecutor.
		According to the Court, prosecutors are responsible for ensuring that police communicate relevant evidence to her office.
		Neither resort has been, nor promises in future to be, effective in ensuring regular prosecutorial access to exculpatory evidence known to the police.
	papers.ssrn.com /sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=215728 (472 words)

	98-2885 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-14)
		Because the State failed to provide Sturgeon with exculpatory evidence related to his confession to the police and because such failure caused Sturgeon to plead guilty, we reverse the judgment of conviction and the order denying postconviction relief.
		However, as we have already noted, a defendant's knowledge that he or she provided an exculpatory version of the event is not the equivalent of knowledge that the police have independent evidence that corroborates the exculpatory version.
		What Sturgeon did not know was that his exculpatory version had been memorialized in the police report of the Badger High School interview and that it also was within the personal knowledge and recollection of Meinel who was present at the initial interview.
	www.courts.state.wi.us /html/ca/98/98-2885.htm (4189 words)

	No. 00-1496
		He argues that the exculpatory nature of the deer carcass was apparent to the State before the State destroyed it, and that he could not obtain comparable evidence by other reasonable means.
		Under the first standard, the evidence: (1)must have possessed an exculpatory value that was apparent before the evidence was destroyed; and (2)be of such a nature that the defendant would be unable to obtain comparable evidence by other reasonable means.
		Even were the carcass potentially exculpatory, there is no record evidence that the State was aware of the potentially exculpatory nature of the carcass before it was destroyed.
	www.wisbar.org /res/capp/z2000/00-1496.htm (1467 words)

	Judicial Supplement 38 - The Prosecutor v. Radoslav Brdjanin - Case No. IT-99-36-T
		Admissibility of exculpatory evidence in a summarised form: the obligation to disclose exculpatory material implies the disclosure of the exculpatory material in its original form, and not in the form of a summary.
		whereby the Appeals Chamber stated that the provision to the Defence of exculpatory evidence in the possession of the Prosecution is connected to the principle of a fair trial.
		Rule 68 (Disclosure of Exculpatory Material) The Prosecutor shall, as soon as practicable, disclose to the defence the existence of material known to the Prosecutor which in any way tends to suggest the innocence or mitigate the guilt of the accused or may affect the credibility of prosecution evidence.
	www.un.org /icty/Supplement/supp38-e/brdjanin.htm (589 words)

	Converted WP file /web/download/n/opinion/Holding/98ca-135
		The district court dismissed the indictment because of the prosecutor's failure to present additional evidence of Defendant's polygraph test to the grand jury as direct exculpatory evidence.
		At the grand jury proceeding, the prosecutor presented some evidence that Defendant took and passed a polygraph test and that the victim's polygraph score was inconclusive.
		We hold that Defendant failed to show that: (1) omission of his proferred evidence was prejudicial, (2) the evidence directly negated his guilt, and (3) the evidence would be legally admissible at trial.
	www.supremecourt.nm.org /pastopinion/VIEW/98ca-135.html (1517 words)

	Annotated Constitution pg 1760
		Important, then, are (a) suppression by the prosecution after a request by the defense, (b) the evidence's favorable character for the defense, and (c) the materiality of the evidence.'' 76.
		The obligation is expressed in a tripartite test of materiality of the exculpatory evidence in the context of the trial record.
		Second, if the defense specifically requested certain evidence and the prosecutor withheld it, the conviction must be set aside if the suppressed evidence might have affected the outcome of the trial.
	www.eco.freedom.org /ac92/ac92pg1760.shtml (373 words)

	Article: PROSECUTORIAL RESISTANCE TO EXCULPATORY DNA EVIDENCE
		When DNA evidence casts doubt on a conviction, it may also be seen as casting doubt on the thoroughness of the police investigation, and on the judgment of the entire prosecution team in evaluating a case.
		There will be cases where DNA evidence should not be deemed sufficient to unsettle a conviction – for the other evidence against the defendant may, standing alone, be overwhelming.
		If DNA testing discredits evidence used to obtain a conviction, then the committee would evaluate the quantity and quality of the untainted evidence to determine whether the office should admit error – or at least support a court’s reopening the case, or agree to a re-trial.
	www.prisonerlife.com /articles/articleID=49.cfm (1720 words)

	Sher Letter 05 08-Sep-1998 Suppression of exculpatory evidence
		First, there is the 24 Dec 1988 John Broadley letter to US Attorney General Richard Thornburgh protesting the suppression of exculpatory evidence by the OSI; and second your own 17 Jan 1989 reply to John Broadley.
		This suspicion is in fact borne out by the evidence — for example, in the Report of the Special Master (United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 85-3435), Special Master Thomas A. Wiseman.
		In your reply to the Broadley letter, you had the opportunity to demonstrate how all such evidence which seemed to point to Richard Glazar as the mysterious Bern, Switzerland witness was misleading, and in fact failed to prove that Richard Glazar had in fact provided statements to the OSI.
	www.ukar.org /sher06.html (627 words)

	lg5
		Provide the exculpatory and/or material evidence officer Knightstep is authorized to expand upon the intent of the Legislature by including that which has not been specified nor included within the VEHICLE CODE.
		Provide me with the exculpatory or other material evidence proving everyone who uses, for non-commercial private purposes, a wheeled motorized or non-motorized conveyan on the streets for any purpose or use is required to ask government permission first.
		Provide me with the exculpatory or other material evidence proving my right to assemble or travel to my destination, either in or upon my private and absolutely owned conveyance using the streets, is a government granted privilege.
	home.earthlink.net /~venue53/lg5.html (3823 words)

	Bizimungu (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-14)
		In addition, the Defence argues that in determining whether failure to disclose exculpatory evidence deprives an accused of his right to due process of law, the sum total of the withheld material should be examined, not each individual item on an item-by-item basis.
		The Trial Chamber considers further that, without making an assessment of the credibility of the witness or the nature of the evidence that may be given by the witness, the Defence for Prosper Mugiraneza has shown good cause that the said witness may be in possession of exculpatory evidence pursuant to Rule 68.
		The Trial Chamber considers that, since the Defence has shown good cause that the said witnesses may be in possession of exculpatory evidence pursuant to Rule 68, the Defence should be granted access to the witnesses and be given the opportunity to interview Witnesses GJT, GKT, GKP and GNH.
	www.ictr.org /ENGLISH/cases/Bizimungu/decisions/101203.htm (1660 words)

	[No title]
		The terms "exculpatory," "material," and "impeachment" are so steeped with technical legalistic meaning that even a trained prosecutor has difficulty determining when a piece of evidence falls within his or her duty to disclose.
		Furthermore, evidence that is favorable to the defendant may not, in many circumstances, be identified as such until the entire case is ready for trial.
		In other investigations the identification of the evidence as exculpatory does not occur until the defendant decides to produce his or her evidence.
	www.state.me.us /ag/investigations/Bulletin/issue50.doc (6425 words)

	DECLARATION OF BJA JULY 8, 2001
		The prosecution concealed and is still concealing the exculpatory evidence that parents made complaints about the indecent exposer and such evidence falls within the scope of Brady v.
		It is well settled law that the prosecution must disclose exculpatory evidence to defendants in a criminal case.
		Maryland (1963) 373 U.S. On appeal or upon a motion for a new trial, the prosecutor's duty to disclose evidence is limited to circumstances where "(1) the government failed to disclose favorable evidence, and (2) the undisclosed evidence was material."(U.S. v.
	www.angelfire.com /my/oneworldtoday/declarationbja.html (1650 words)

	Martin Mendelsohn Deposition Nov 1979 Supplemental Answers: Exculpatory evidence suppressed?
		These Supplemental Answers constitute Exhibit B in Edward W. Nishnic's 2 Feb 1989 letter to all members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, which provides an excellent overview of the chief evidence indicating that the OSI suppressed or destroyed exculpatory evidence.
		However, taking other pieces of evidence into account at the same time — as will shortly be done on the Ukrainian Archive — will in fact convincingly demonstrate the truth of this charge beyond all reasonable doubt.
		The significant conclusions stemming from Martin Mendelsohn's Supplemental Answers arise from incongruities that are discoverable therein, and these incongruities are best revealed in a table showing the 12 names of witnesses mentioned, and the categories in which their names appear.
	www.ukar.org /mendel01.html (1427 words)

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