Principal Naeun Rim authored an article for the Daily Journal entitled, “Brady v. Pitchess: A Constitutional Crisis 40 Years in the Making.” The article details flaws in the California court of appeal’s decision in ALADS v. Superior Court, which held that the state’s Pitchess statutes prohibit the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department from providing to prosecutors a Brady list, a list of officers with founded allegations of misconduct in their personnel files.
According to the Brady doctrine, the U.S. Constitution requires prosecutors to affirmatively turn over evidence favorable to the defense in a criminal case. If a prosecutor fails to produce Brady materials to the defense, the prosecution team is considered to have violated the defendant’s constitutional rights. The California Supreme Court will hear an oral argument in ALADS on June 5.
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