One of the first documents clients see us file on their behalf is a demand for discovery and inspection. This is a formal demand for the government to turn over all evidence that it has against our clients in a timely manner. A criminal prosecution is not supposed to play out on a level playing field: we are entitled to all of the State's evidence, but with limited exceptions, do not have to disclose the same back to the government. A client's right to discovery is both constitutional and statutory...the government is required to turn over all of its evidence, good, bad, or otherwise. This means that we get all police reports, witness statements, audio and video recordings (like body cameras and squad car videos), search warrants and affidavits, scientific testing and results (like DNA, fingerprints, OWI blood results, and computer forensics), SANE or other medical examination results, and more. Basically any record generated in a criminal prosecution. There are some exceptions, notably for evidence that is otherwise protected in law like child pornography or the identity of confidential informants. While attorneys are generally able to access or examine this evidence privately, there are some documents we are prohibited from maintaining in our files or sharing with clients.
The prosecutor is not required to turn over discovery until "a reasonable time before trial." What this means varies by jurisdiction, but in most cases the prosecutor does not have to turn over discovery before the initial appearance in a misdemeanor prosecution, or before the arraignment in felony prosecutions. Most DA's offices now use cloud-based management systems to transfer discovery to defense attorneys. The time that it takes to provide discovery after arraignment or initial appearance varies by office, but in La Crosse County it takes about two weeks. Other counties will provide discovery almost instantly, while some take longer. Most now charge defense attorneys for the discovery that they have provided, and do so by the megabyte, which is a cost that unfortunately passes on to the client.
Once the initial demand is made, a prosecutor has an ongoing obligation to provide evidence to defense counsel. This means that they can't hide evidence that they receive after discovery is initially provided, and must turn over what they receive from investigators to our office. Our office will generally provide all discovery to our clients in the manner that works best for them, whether that is email, a flash drive/CD, or in the case of incarcerated clients, printed materials.
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