Lawmakers Working To Change What Evidence Attorneys Exchange In Court
By: Ashley Hinson
Updated: March 11, 2013
State Senator Robert Duncan filed a bill on Friday that would change the way the prosecution and defense attorneys exchange evidence in court.
Duncan thinks reasonable discovery reform is necessary to keep our criminal justice system effective and to ensure all evidence in a case comes to light.
This new law would require prosecutors to give defense lawyers essentially every piece of evidence in their files and vice versa.
Duncan said it will help convict the guilty and protect the innocent, and save taxpayers money on wrongful conviction lawsuits.
But defense attorney, Chuck Lanehart, said according to the constitution it's not the defense's responsibility to give up information.
"That's not the way our system works," said Lanehart. "It's the government's burden to prove that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendant has no burden to prove himself innocent so there's no reason for the defense to give evidence to prove himself innocent before a trial."
Almost every other state has discovery requirements just like the one in this proposed bill, but in Texas, prosecutors are only required to reveal basic information about the crime and only if a judge requires it.
