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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 653
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 6345
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING OPEN FILE DISCLOSURE IN CRIMINAL
CASES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 54-86a of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2020): 2
[(a) Upon motion of a defendant at any time after the filing of the 3
indictment or information, and upon a showing that the items sought 4
may be material to the preparation of his defense and that the request 5
is reasonable, the court shall order the attorney for the state to permit 6
the defendant to inspect and copy or photograph any relevant (1) 7
written or recorded statements, admissions or confessions made by the 8
defendant; (2) books, papers, documents or tangible objects obtained 9
from or belonging to the defendant or obtained from others by seizure 10
or process; (3) copies of records of any physical or mental 11
examinations of the defendant; and (4) records of prior convictions of 12
the defendant, or copies thereof, within the possession, custody or 13
control of the state, the existence of which is known to the attorney for 14
the state or to the defendant. 15 Committee Bill No. 653
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(b) An order of the court granting relief under subsection (a) of this 16
section shall specify the time, place and manner of making the 17
discovery and inspection permitted and may prescribe such terms and 18
conditions as are just. 19
(c) A motion under subsection (a) of this section may be made only 20
in a criminal case and shall include all relief sought under subsection 21
(a) of this section. A subsequent motion may be made only upon a 22
showing of cause why such motion would be in the interest of justice.] 23
[(d)] (a) Prior to the arraignment of any arrested person before the 24
court to determine the existence of probable cause to believe such 25
person committed the offense charged or to determine the conditions 26
of such person's release pursuant to section 54-64a, the [attorney for 27
the state] prosecutorial official shall provide the arrested person or his 28
or her counsel with a copy of any affidavit or report submitted to the 29
court for the purpose of making such determination; except that the 30
court may, upon motion of the [attorney for the state] prosecutorial 31
official and for good cause shown, limit the disclosure of any such 32
affidavit or report, or portion thereof. 33
(b) Upon written request by a defendant filed in accordance with 34
section 41-5 of the Connecticut Practice Book, as amended from time to 35
time, and without requiring any order of the court, the prosecutorial 36
official, subject to section 40-40 et seq. of the Connecticut Practice Book, 37
as amended from time to time, shall promptly, but no later than forty-38
five days from the filing of such request, unless such time is extended 39
by the court for good cause shown, disclose in writing the existence of, 40
provide photocopies of, and allow the defendant in accordance with 41
section 40-7 of the Connecticut Practice Book, as amended from time to 42
time, to inspect, copy, photograph and have reasonable tests made on 43
any of the following items that are within the possession, custody or 44
control of the prosecutorial official, the state or any agent of the state, 45
including a person under contract with the state: (1) Relevant police or 46
uniform arrest reports, including all recorded statements, whether oral 47
or written, of all witnesses; (2) relevant books, papers, documents, 48 Committee Bill No. 653
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photographs or other tangible materials; (3) relevant recorded 49
statements, whether oral or written, admissions or confessions made 50
by the defendant; (4) relevant records or copies of such records of any 51
prior conviction of the defendant or any witness; (5) any warrant 52
executed for the arrest of the defendant for the offense charged, and 53
any search and seizure warrants issued in connection with the 54
investigation of the offense charged; and (6) exculpatory information 55
and material with respect to the defendant. Upon request from a 56
defendant, the prosecutorial official shall provide such information 57
and material in the same electronic format and file type, if any, in 58
which the state maintains such information and material. 59
(c) As soon as practicable, but not later than thirty-five days before 60
the start of a trial in a criminal case, except that the court may, upon 61
motion of the defendant or prosecutorial official and for good cause 62
shown, adjust such period of time, the prosecutorial official shall 63
obtain and disclose to the attorney for the defendant the following 64
information and material not required to be disclosed under 65
subsection (b) of this section and that is within the possession, custody 66
or control of the prosecutorial official, the state or any agent of the 67
state, including a person under contract with the state: (1) Reports or 68
statements of experts made in connection with the particular case, 69
including results of physical or mental examinations and of scientific 70
tests, experiments or comparisons; (2) tapes and transcripts of any 71
electronic surveillance of conversations involving the defendant, any 72
codefendant or witness in the case; (3) a summary of any unwritten or 73
unrecorded admissions or confessions made by the defendant, or any 74
codefendant; and (4) copies of relevant records of any physical or 75
mental examinations of the defendant. Upon request from th e 76
defendant, the prosecutorial official shall provide any such 77
information or material in the same electronic format and file type, if 78
any, in which the state maintains such information or material. If prior 79
to or during trial, the prosecutorial official discovers additional 80
information or material that must be disclosed to the defendant under 81
this subsection, the prosecutorial official shall immediately disclose 82 Committee Bill No. 653
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such information or material. 83
(d) In the case of a defendant charged with a class A, B or C felony, 84
before (1) the court accepts a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, (2) the 85
court requires a defendant to accept or reject a plea agreement, the 86
rejection of which would cause the case to go to trial, or (3) trial, the 87
defendant and the prosecutorial official shall acknowledge, in writing 88
or otherwise on the record in open court, the disclosure of all 89
information or material provided to the defendant under this section. 90
(e) The prosecutorial official shall provide to the defendant an 91
itemized list of information or material disclosed pursuant to this 92
section. The listing of such information or material shall be in the order 93
in which the prosecutorial official disclosed such information or 94
material. The defendant shall acknowledge receipt of any such list on 95
the record. 96
(f) A party may object to any requirement to disclose under this 97
section and the court shall evaluate and make a determination 98
concerning such objection in the same manner as provided in section 99
40-8 of the Connecticut Practice Book, as amended from time to time. 100
Sec. 2. Section 54-86b of the general statutes is repealed and the 101
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2020): 102
[(a) In any criminal prosecution, after a witness called by the 103
prosecution has testified on direct examination, the court shall on 104
motion of the defendant order the prosecution to produce any 105
statement oral or written of the witness in the possession of the 106
prosecution which relates to the subject matter as to which the witness 107
has testified, and the court shall order said statement to be delivered 108
directly to the defendant for his examination and use.] 109
(a) In any criminal prosecution, except as provided in sections 54-110
86d and 54-86e, not later than the thirtieth day before the date that jury 111
selection is scheduled to begin or in the case of a trial without a jury, or 112
not later than the thirtieth day before the date that presentation of 113 Committee Bill No. 653
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evidence is scheduled to begin, the defendant or the attorney for the 114
defendant or prosecutorial official may request that the other party 115
disclose the name and address of any person the party receiving such 116
request may use as a witness at trial to present evidence. Such 117
disclosure shall be made in writing not later than the tenth day after 118
receiving such request and subject to the provisions of section 40-10 of 119
the Connecticut Practice Book, as amended from time to time. On 120
motion of a party and after notice from the moving party to the other 121
parties, the court may order an earlier date on which one or more of 122
the other parties must disclose such requested information. 123
(b) If the [prosecution fails to comply with the order of the court] 124
defendant or the attorney for the defendant or the prosecutorial official 125
fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the 126
court [shall] may strike from the record the testimony of the witness 127
and the trial shall proceed unless the court in its discretion shall 128
determine that the interests of justice require that a mistrial be 129
declared. 130
Sec. 3. Section 54-86c of the general statutes is repealed and the 131
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2020): 132
[(a) Not later than thirty days after any defendant enters a plea of 133
not guilty in a criminal case, the state's attorney, assistant state's 134
attorney or deputy assistant state's attorney in charge of the case shall 135
disclose any exculpatory information or material which he may have 136
with respect to the defendant whether or not a request has been made 137
therefor. If prior to or during the trial of the case, the prosecutorial 138
official discovers additional information or material which is 139
exculpatory, he shall promptly disclose the information or material to 140
the defendant. 141
(b) Any state's attorney, assistant state's attorney or deputy assistant 142
state's attorney may request an ex parte in camera hearing before a 143
judge, who shall not be the same judge who presides at the hearing of 144
the criminal case if the case is tried to the court, to determine whether 145 Committee Bill No. 653
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any material or information is exculpatory.] 146
[(c)] Each peace officer, as defined in subdivision (9) of section 53a-147
3, shall disclose in writing any exculpatory information or material 148
which [he] such peace officer may have with respect to any criminal 149
investigation to the prosecutorial official in charge of [such case] any 150
criminal case for which such peace officer knows or should know such 151
investigation is relevant. Not later than thirty-five days prior to the 152
start of trial, the prosecutorial official shall represent to the defendant 153
and the court that such prosecutorial official has inquired of each 154
peace officer in the case whether such peace officer has made the 155
prosecutorial official aware of all such information or material and that 156
all such information or material has been disclosed to the defendant. 157
Sec. 4. Subsection (b) of section 54-86k of the general statutes is 158
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 159
January 1, 2020): 160
(b) If the results of the DNA analysis tend to exculpate the accused, 161
the prosecuting authority shall disclose such exculpatory information 162
or material to the accused in accordance with section [54-86c] 54-86a, 163
as amended by this act. 164
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2020) (a) Notwithstanding the 165
provisions of sections 54-86a to 54-86c, inclusive, of the general 166
statutes, as amended by this act, any disclosure of information or 167
material made by a prosecutorial official or a defendant pursuant to 168
said sections may be limited in the same manner as provided in 169
sections 40-14 and 40-31 of the Connecticut Practice Book, as amended 170
from time to time. 171
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 54-86a to 54-86c, 172
inclusive, of the general statutes, as amended by this act, a party to a 173
criminal case may move for a protective order to prevent the 174
disclosure of certain information or material in accordance with the 175
provisions of 40-40 to 40-43, inclusive, of the Connecticut Practice 176 Committee Bill No. 653
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Book, as amended from time to time, in which case the court may issue 177
an order in the same manner and form as provided in said sections of 178
the Connecticut Practice Book. 179
(c) Upon motion of a party, the court may find that an opposing 180
party failed to comply with disclosure requirements under the 181
provisions of sections 54-86a to 54-86c, inclusive, of the general 182
statutes, as amended by this act, in which case the court may issue an 183
order in the same manner and form as provided in section 40-5 of the 184
Connecticut Practice Book, as amended from time to time. 185
(d) Unless the court orders otherwise for good cause, if a party to a 186
criminal case intends to perform a scientific test or experiment on any 187
material subject to disclosure under the provisions of sections 54-86a to 188
54-86c, inclusive, of the general statutes, as amended by this act, and 189
such test or experiment may preclude or impair any further tests or 190
experiments on such material, such party shall give reasonable notice 191
and opportunity to be present to any other party to the criminal case 192
and any other person known to have or believed to have an interest in 193
the matter, unless the court orders otherwise for good cause. Such 194
other party or other person may have an expert observe or participate 195
in the test or experiment. 196
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 January 1, 2020 54-86a
Sec. 2 January 1, 2020 54-86b
Sec. 3 January 1, 2020 54-86c
Sec. 4 January 1, 2020 54-86k(b)
Sec. 5 January 1, 2020 New section
JUD Joint Favorable
APP Joint Favorable