Since state and federal racketeering cases must be based upon the commission of a crime, defendants in a civil racketeering case need to be aware of the likelihood that a parallel criminal investigation will be conducted during the pendency of the civil case. This reality presents significant risks to the civil racketeering defendant. I plan to deal with the enormous difficulties faced by a defendant exposed to parallel civil and criminal prosecutions in later posts. For now I just want to provide an overview of the criminal discovery process.
At the outset the point must be made that the government’s ability to discover information is significantly broader than that of a defendant, although a defendant’s rights are protected by certain constitutional guarantees.
1. Investigation
The most obvious source of information for the prosecution is the investigatory arm of law enforcement. By the time the prosecution’s attention is drawn to an individual, law enforcement has typically gathered substantial evidence relating to the alleged offense. The government’s ability to gather evidence is further enhanced by the use of search and seizure, a mechanism not available to the defense.
Like the government, defendants can employ investigators to gather potential exculpatory evidence. However, an innocent defendant has no prior knowledge of the accusations against which he must defend himself and a defendant who has committed many crimes does not know which the government has discovered. Consequently, the defendant must rely on the government’s disclosures to calculate how best to present a defense.
2. Grand Jury
Grand jury proceedings provide another significant avenue for the prosecution to gather evidence. It is a “fundamental maxim” that the grand jury “has a right to every man’s evidence....” Before the grand jury, prosecutors have wide latitude to compel testimony and obtain documentary evidence without the restrictions imposed by the state and federal rules of evidence and out of the presence of the defendant and his counsel.
Unlike the prosecution, the defendant has little or no access to grand jury proceedings. A defendant may not even be aware of a grand jury investigation until it is complete. Further, state and federal rules of criminal procedure require that grand jury proceedings be kept confidential.
3. Constitutional Disclosure
The Constitution requires the prosecution to produce certain evidence material to the defense. The most familiar requirement is the prosecution’s obligation to produce exculpatory evidence. The United States Supreme Court has held that the government’s failure to provide a defendant with exculpatory evidence in its possession violated the defendant’s constitutional rights. This obligation extends to evidence that a defendant can use to impeach the government’s witnesses.
4. Discovery Authorized by Statute
The Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3500, provides that statements by government witnesses in the hands of the government must be produced, but not until after those witnesses have testified. Certain statutes provide some defendants with additional discovery. For example, defendants charged with capital offenses are entitled to a list of the witnesses against them at least three days before commencement of trial.
5. Discovery Under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
A. Rule 16. Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure requires that the parties disclose certain information. Upon request, the prosecution must provide certain statements made by the defendant; the defendant’s criminal record; access to certain physical evidence; and reports related to expert, scientific, and medical evidence. Significantly, the Rule does not require disclosure of statements made by government witnesses.
Rule 26.2 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure provides that after a witness testifies, a party may compel production of any relevant statements made by that witness. The Rule does not provide a method for discovery of statements or documents in the hands of a non-party even if they are relevant statements by a witness who has testified.
B. Rule 17(c) Subpoenas
Finally, there is Rule 17(c) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, which provides:
(1) In General. A subpoena may order the witness to produce any books, papers, documents, data, or other objects the subpoena designates. The court may direct the witness to produce the designated items in court before trial or before they are to be offered in evidence. When the items arrive, the court may permit the parties and their attorneys to inspect all or part of them.
(2) Quashing or Modifying the Subpoena. On motion made promptly, the court may quash or modify the subpoena if compliance would be unreasonable or oppressive.
6. Cases
There are numerous cases dealing with criminal discovery, a discussion of which is well beyond the scope of this post.
7. Conclusion.
This brief overview is intended only as an introduction to the criminal discovery process. Books have been written about it. Hopefully this information will be helpful.