NCJ Number
119174
Journal
Criminal Justice Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1989) Pages: 12-15,36-37
Date Published
1989
Length
6 pages
Annotation
It is time to overhaul the rules of discovery to ensure fair treatment for defendants in Federal cases.
Abstract
Some factors supporting this conclusion are that Federal criminal discovery lags significantly behind the discovery now routinely available in many States, and the complexity and time limits of many Federal prosecutions make broader discovery necessary to avoid giving the government an unfair advantage at trial. For years the proper extent of criminal discovery in the Federal system has been vigorously debated. Today, the scope of pretrial discovery available in many State and local prosecutors' offices approaches the level routinely available in Federal civil cases. The advent of guideline sentencing has created an impetus to defense counsel in determining intelligently whether and on what terms to enter a plea. One logical means of expansion would be to allow the defense to have pretrial access to all grand jury transcripts.