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CA: must the defendant disclose his documents to DA/police?
California Criminal trial (minor traffic violation). I'm actually innocent and will easily prove it if I can present maps and drawings.
According to court rules (PC 1054.1) the prosecution must give me their documents and lists of witnesses. (except they don't).
(you can search the web for "PC 1054.1" it'll come right up.)
However - this is outrageous - apparently I the defense must also give them my documents (PC 1054.3). The defense is no longer allowed to pop surprises in the courtroom, in California. This is because of "proposition 115".
Except, all the "fix your ticket" books, websites and forums I read, all say nothing about this. They all say "Make your drawings, prepare your presentation and just show up in court." Well hold on -- won't the prosecution say "Objection, you didn't disclose it"?
The books etc. seem to mention as a footnote that if you do "informal discovery" to get their stuff, you must disclose your stuff. (they point to PC 1054.5)
But what if you DON'T do informal discovery? Do you still need to disclose under PC 1054.3? If you don't discover, and don't disclose, will the prosecutor just say "Objection" to all your photos and charts? I'll lose if that happens because it'll be officer's word against mine.
Traffic cases actually are criminal cases. PC 1054 applies. The "fix your ticket" books, sites etc. all concur.
3 Answers
- Anonymous1 decade agoFavorite Answer
I am afraid I disagree with David. Penal Code 1054, et seq., applies to crimes not listed in the Penal Code. Infractions are crimes. (See Tracy v. Municipal Court (1978) 22 Cal.3d 760, 765.) However, under Pen C 1054.5, you do not have to turn anything over unless the prosecutor asks--and I have never heard of a prosecutor requesting discovery in a traffic infraction matter. In many courts, no prosecutor even appears. In "real" criminal cases, the request is always included in the charging document, but your trial is most likely proceeding upon the citation, which has no such request.
Since you probably know all the evidence the prosecutor will present, you don't have to ask for discovery. If you did, that MIGHT trigger a prosecutor's request in return. But as it stands now, if the prosecutor said, "Objection, you did not disclose it," your response would be, "You did not ask."
Source(s): 35+ years as a criminal defense attorney - davidmi711Lv 71 decade ago
Traffic offenses are in the California Vehicle Code CVC and are not criminal cases. I read PC 1054.1, .2 & .3 and they are reference criminal cases.
