The discovery rules are a set of laws that are used in many states in the United States. There are many rules that are a part of the discovery laws. Procedural rules 11 and 14 are two important laws that make up the discovery rules. Procedural Rule 11 looks into pretrial conference and pretrial hearings. The pre-trial conference first occurs during the arraignment stage in a criminal trial. At the pretrial conference, there is an agenda and a report that is discussed and performed. There are many issues that can be discussed at the pretrial conference. These issues can include the "discovery and other matters which absent agreement of the parties must be raised by pretrial motion." ("Criminal Procedure Rule 11: Pretrial conference and pretrial …show more content…
There are 5 main procedures for discovery. The first is an automatic discovery. There are 5 parts to the automatic discovery. The first part is the mandatory discovery of the defendant. This rule states that "the prosecutor must disclose any evidence that was discovered by the police including any oral and/or written statements, any facts, the names, addresses, and dates of birth of the witnesses, photographs, etc. to the defense attorney and the defendant." ("Criminal Procedure Rule 14: Pretrial discovery." Mass.gov, www.mass.gov/rules-of-criminal-procedure/criminal-procedure-rule-14-pretrial-discovery.). The reciprocal discovery for the prosecution is the second part of the automatic discovery. This states that "the defendant must disclose any discoverable evidence to the prosecution." ("Criminal Procedure Rule 14: Pretrial discovery." Mass.gov, www.mass.gov/rules-of-criminal-procedure/criminal-procedure-rule-14-pretrial-discovery.). The stay of automatic discovery is the third part. If any party fails to provide discovery, the court can apply sanctions permitted for non-compliance with a court order. The next part is to record the convictions of the defendant, co-defendants and prosecution witnesses. The last section under automatic discovery is the notice and preservation of evidence. This section states that "if any evidence that is introduced in the case, the prosecutor must notify the defendant of its whereabouts …show more content…
The first is the notice of alibi. The notice of defendant states the specific place which the defendant claims to be at the time of the crime and the names and addresses of the witnesses that were present. The Commonwealth serves a written notice to the defendant stating the names and addresses of the witnesses in order to deem the defendant's alibi reliable. The second procedure is the mental health issues. If there is an issue regarding mental health, a notification to the judge should pertain a statement that the defendant was mentally ill at the time of the crime and the name and addresses of witnesses that can confirm the mental illness. A court-appointed examiner conducts a physical, psychiatric, and psychological test in order to deem whether a person is mentally ill and competent to stand trial. The third procedure is the discovery for the purpose of a court-ordered examination. If the judge orders this, "the defendant must give the court all of their mental health, medical, and any other test records." ("Criminal Procedure Rule 14: Pretrial discovery." Mass.gov, www.mass.gov/rules-of-criminal-procedure/criminal-procedure-rule-14-pretrial-discovery.). The notice of other defenses is the next procedure. This states that "if a defendant relies upon a defense, the defendant must file a pretrial motion." ("Criminal Procedure Rule 14: Pretrial discovery." Mass.gov,