Criminal Discovery is essentially those documents that make up the State’s case against you. Yes, one of the basic responsibilities and duties of your Tampa Criminal Defense Lawyer is to keep you informed of the status and strength/weakness of your case. If you have not seen your criminal discovery, you should certainly ask or demand your criminal defense attorney immediately provide it to you. Discovery, as we’ve discussed elsewhere in our Tampa Criminal Defense Lawyer blog, includes those facts, quotes, pictures, testing results, etc. that the State Attorney’s Office intends to use to attempt to put you in State Prison or County Jail. Basically, if the prosecution is going use it, it should be in your criminal discovery.
As I’ve told countless criminal defendants, the American criminal justice system does not operate like a poker table. One cannot bluff their way to a conviction. The State Attorney’s Office must provide a criminal defendant any and all evidence that is exculpatory or impeachment in nature. Exculpatory ultimately means that it could help you be found not guilty. Impeachment means that it will be used to prove that State witnesses are lying or manipulating their story in some capacity.
Your discovery should assist you in determining the strength of your case, the weaknesses of the State’s case and potential avenues for further discovery. For example, if it is a case involving an eyewitness, the criminal attorneys of Hackworth Law, P.A. would certainly continue discovery in a manner to determine whether the eyewitness has issues with their eyesight, where they were standing, if they have a motive to lie, if they know the parties involved, etc. These are the questions you and your criminal defense attorney should be discussing in those initial meetings once discovery has been received from the State Attorney’s Office. These are the keys to a successful defense, and ultimately you getting the result you demand and deserve in your criminal case.
If you’ve not had the opportunity to analyze and discuss your discovery with your criminal defense attorney, you should immediately demand to know why. It is their duty and obligation to keep you assessed of the matter and at least give you the opportunity to consider the strength of the State’s case prior to you deciding to go to trial or take some sort of plea offer from the state. If they are not giving you access to your discovery, they are simply not doing their job and their duty.
If you have questions concerning the discovery in your matter and/or the State’s obligation to provide discovery, contact the Tampa Defense Attorneys of Hackworth Law, P.A. for a free case consultation. If you have immediate questions use the Contact Us Now button on our website and send us a direct electronic message so we can further discuss the matter with you. We appreciate your time in visiting our website. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you in the future.