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For those of you who nodded off during Criminal Law, the Brady rule<\/a> requires prosecutors to disclose material exculpatory evidence in the government\u2019s possession to the defense. It is a nice rule \u2014 it is hard enough for defending counsel to go up against the vast resources of the state. Brady prevents prosecutors from weighing their thumbs on the scale and hiding the ball to put innocent people behind bars.<\/p>\n In theory.<\/p>\n The application gets a little more blurry. Davel v. Chinn<\/em> could\u2019ve offered some clarification but SCOTUS denied cert.<\/p>\n Justice\u00a0Ketanji Brown Jackson<\/strong>\u00a0dissented from the Supreme Court\u2019s denial of certiorari in the case of a man convicted in a 1989 robbery-murder and sentenced to death, expressing concern about the prosecution\u2019s \u201ckey witness.\u201d<\/p>\n [Jackson] would have granted the case because the state \u201csuppressed exculpatory evidence\u201d about\u00a0Marvin Washington<\/strong>. Washington,\u00a0the \u201cmain\u201d witness against Chinn, had an \u201cintellectual disability that may have affected Washington\u2019s ability to remember, perceive fact from fiction, and testify accurately,\u201d the justice wrote.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n You would think the Brady<\/em> rule would require the prosecution to be upfront about their star witness potentially confusing fact and fiction. And not in some \u201cbrain in a vat\u201d way philosophy nerds like to throw at you after a few beers. Knowing that the person you put on the stand may not grasp the difference between reality and the Truman Show is nasty work. Justice Jackson argued that the case at hand could have resolved the distinction between the \u201creasonable probability\u201d and \u201cmore-probable-than-not\u201d standards:<\/p>\n \u201cThe Sixth Circuit did not appropriately apply the materiality standard. Although the Sixth Circuit purported to recognize that the two standards were different, it simultaneously claimed that \u201creasonable probability\u2019 for\u00a0Brady\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0purposes is effectively the same as a more-probable-than-not standard,\u2019\u201d the justice wrote. \u201cIt further said that \u2018[t]he Brady question now\u2019 before the court was \u2018whether it is more probable than not that the withheld evidence would have created a different result.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat reasoning violated the spirit, if not the letter, of our many cases holding that the two standards are not the same and that \u2018reasonable probability\u2019 is a lower standard,\u201d Jackson continued.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I hope the next time an opportunity presents itself for the Supreme Court to clear up a vital ambiguity in our criminal procedure, Justices Jackson and Sotomayor aren\u2019t the only ones that answer the call. Lives are on the line.<\/p>\n \u201cJustices Jackson and Sotomayor recognized the injustice in upholding Davel Chinn\u2019s conviction and death sentence when the State suppressed exculpatory evidence that, based on the Ohio Courts\u2019 own representations, was likely to result in an acquittal,\u201d\u00a0Rachel Troutman<\/strong>, Chinn\u2019s attorney with the Ohio Public Defender\u2019s Office, said in an email to Law&Crime. \u201cOhio must not exacerbate the mistakes of the past by pursuing Mr. Chinn\u2019s execution.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n SCOTUS Refused to Take Up Case on \u2018Suppressed Exculpatory Evidence\u2019 About \u2018Key Witness\u2019 in Capital Case, and Justice Jackson Had Some Thoughts<\/a> [Law and Crime]<\/p>\n\n
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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord\u2122 in the Facebook group\u00a0Law School Memes for Edgy T14s<\/a>. \u00a0He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim,\u00a0a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor<\/a>, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at\u00a0cwilliams@abovethelaw.com<\/a>\u00a0and by tweet at\u00a0@WritesForRent<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n