Ohio

Cuyahoga County Judges Adopt Open Discovery Rules Prosecutor Plans to Appeal

By Cleveland Law Library

Last week, the Plain Dealer reported that the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judges voted to amend the rules governing criminal prosecutions. In 90 days, Rule 23.1 will require prosecutors to give defense counsel a discovery "packet" containing witness statements, statements by defendants, police reports, lab and hospital reports, and criminal records of defendants and witnesses. However, the Plain Dealer indicates that prosecutors may redact sensitve information that could jeopardize the safety of a witness or victim. Reports indicate that Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason plans to appeal on the basis that the Rule is allegedly unconstitutional. At present, the Plain Dealer reports that Mason's office is only allowing defense counsel to review computer screens containing police reports and statements as part of a pilot project for lower level felonies. See our prior post about the case In Judge Eileen Gallagher's courtroom that spurred the initial discussion about discovery chanages, as well as our prior post about the underlying process.

Full post as published by Cleveland Law Library Weblog on November 21, 2008 (boomark / email).