The Duty of DUI Disclousre by the Defendant
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The Supreme Court of Ohio issued a decision today which involves, from a legal standpoint, the intersection of "public records" requests (and information obtained from those requests) and a defendant's legal duty to reveal to the prosecution the documents and evidence a defendant will try to use at trial. Just like a prosecutor's duty to disclose evidence the prosecution wants to use at trial, the defendant has a reciprocal duty to disclose the evidence the defendant wants to use at trial. In this case, the lawyer for the defendant tried to use documents that were obtained through a "public records" request which the defense lawyer had used outside of the trial court discovery and subpoena power. The Supreme Court of Ohio held that the defense lawyer had a duty to disclose the existence of these records to the prosecution if the defendant wanted to use them at trial. When it comes to criminal discovery, the proverbial barn door should always be open. In short, no sneaky "gotcha" tactic will be permitted by the prosecution or the defense.
