Stephen Lee Allen v. District Court

Bartlesville, Oklahoma criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with murder in the first-degree.



¶1 The Petitioner has filed a Petition for Writ of Mandamus requesting that this Court direct the District Court of Washington County to grant Petitioner's discovery requests in Case No. CRF-90-239. Petitioner appeals from an order by the District Court denying in part and granting in part discovery requested by the Petitioner prior to the preliminary examination. The [803 P.2d 1165] District Court cited Stafford v. State, 595 P.2d 797 (Okl.Cr. 1979), as authority for denying Petitioner's discovery requests as being premature; and State v. Benson, 661 P.2d 908 (Okl.Cr. 1983), as support for the examining magistrate's lack of authority to order production of discovery material. The District Court denied two requests for evidence. However, the requests at that time were found to be for exculpatory evidence and subject to a continuing obligation on the part of the prosecution to provide as that evidence becomes known.



¶2 The issues presented on appeal require an analysis of the historical development of our court system since statehood to ensure the proper application of our current statutes and caselaw. An examination of the caselaw in this area tracks the development of the interpretation of the procedural statutes which have existed since 1910 and legal fictions which have evolved in the attempt to adapt to changes in the courts' reorganization and jurisdiction. This anomaly, which failed to interpret and apply the existing statutory provisions as we transitioned into a unified court system, has rendered our jurisprudence confusing and bent the statutory procedure to the present breaking point.



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¶18 The State shall be required to disclose the following:



1. Upon the request of the defense, the prosecuting attorney shall disclose to defense counsel all of the material and information within the prosecutor's possession or control including but not limited to:



(a) the names and addresses of witnesses, together with their relevant oral, written or recorded statement, or summaries of same;



(b) any written or recorded statements and the substance of any oral statements [803 P.2d 1168] made by the accused or made by a codefendant;



(c) any reports or statements made by experts in connection with the particular case, including results of physical or mental examinations and of scientific tests, experiments, or comparisons;



(d) any books, papers, documents, photographs, tangible objects, buildings, or places which the prosecuting attorney intends to use in the hearing or trial or which were obtained from or belong to the accused;



(e) any record of prior criminal convictions of the defendant, or of any codefendant; and



(f) OSBI or FBI rap sheet/records check on any witness listed by the State or the Defense as a possible witness who will testify at trial.



2. The prosecuting attorney shall disclose to defense counsel any material or information within the prosecutor's possession or control which tends to negate the guilt of the accused as to the offense charged or which would tend to reduce the punishment of the accused.



3. The prosecuting attorney's obligations under this standard extend to material and information in the possession or control of members of the prosecutor's staff and of any others who either regularly report or, with reference to the particular case, have reported to the prosecutor's office.



¶19 The Defense shall be required to disclose the following:



1. (a) The names and addresses of witnesses, together with their relevant oral, written or recorded statement, or summaries of same;



(b) the name and address of any witness, other than the defendant, who will be called to show that the defendant was not present at the time and place specified in the information [or indictment], together with the witnesses statement to that fact;



(c) the names and addresses of any witness the defendant will call, other than himself, for testimony relating to any mental disease, mental defect, or other condition bearing upon his mental state at the time the offense was allegedly committed, together with the witnesses statement of that fact, if the statement is redacted by the court to preclude disclosure of privileged communication.



A statement filed under subdivision 1.(a)(b) or (c) is not admissible in evidence at trial. Information obtained as a result of a statement filed under this subdivision is not admissible in evidence at trial except to refute the testimony of a witness whose identity this subdivision requires to be disclosed.



2. Upon the prosecuting attorney's request after the time set by the court, the defendant shall allow him access at any reasonable times and in any reasonable manner to inspect, photograph, copy, or have reasonable tests made upon any book, paper, document, photograph, or tangible object which is within the defendant's possession or control and which:



(a) the defendant intends to offer in evidence, except to the extent that it contains any communication of the defendant; or



(b) is a report or statement as to a physical or mental examination or scientific test or experiment made in connection with the particular case prepared by and relating to the anticipated testimony of a person whom the defendant intends to call as a witness, provided the report or statement is redacted by the court to preclude disclosure of privileged communication.



If the defendant subsequently ascertains that he has possession or control of such a matter, he shall promptly so inform the prosecuting attorney. The fact that the defendant, under this subdivision, has indicated an intent to offer a matter in evidence or to call a person as a witness in not admissible in evidence at trial. Information obtained as a result of disclosure under this subdivision is not admissible in evidence at trial except to refute the matter disclosed. Provided further, that the trial judge shall ensure all discovery orders do not violate the defendant's right against self-incrimination.



[803 P.2d 1169]



¶20 The trial court shall be empowered to order the following sanctions for noncompliance:



1. If the prosecuting attorney fails to comply with the discovery order, the court on motion of the defendant or on its own motion shall grant appropriate relief, which may include one or more of the following: requiring the prosecuting attorney to comply, granting the defendant additional time or a continuance, relieving the defendant from making a disclosure required by court pursuant to these rules, prohibiting the prosecuting attorney from introducing specified evidence or calling specified witnesses, and dismissing charges.



2. If the defendant fails to comply with the discovery order, the court on motion of the prosecuting attorney or on its own motion shall grant appropriate relief, which may include one or more of the following: requiring the defendant to comply, granting the prosecuting attorney additional time or a continuance, prohibiting the defendant from introducing specified evidence or calling specified witnesses, and granting a mistrial based on manifest necessity due to the acts of the defendant.



3. The sanctions relating to prohibiting either party from introducing specified evidence or calling a specified witness relates to items or persons required to be disclosed by the court's discovery order and the party against whom the sanction is sought has failed to comply with the order or show good cause as to why the party failed to comply.



4. The discovery order shall not include discovery of legal work product of either attorney which is deemed to include legal research or those portions of records, correspondence, reports, or memoranda which are only the opinions, theories, or conclusions of the attorney or the attorney's legal staff.



These criminal discovery procedures will ensure that our trial procedure will be a process to seek justice by providing the defendant and the State access to appropriate pre-trial discovery material. These procedures are effective as of the date of this order and apply to all cases pending in the district courts of the State of Oklahoma. The provisions of 22 O.S. 1981 § 251 [22-251] et seq. are specific as to the purpose and scope of a preliminary examination. As such, the provisions do not allow this Court to interpret them in such a manner as to approve discovery prior to preliminary examination. See Bookman v. State, 661 P.2d 909 (Okl.Cr. 1983); Stafford v. State, 595 P.2d 797 (Okl.Cr. 1979). Therefore, this Application for Writ of Mandamus must be DENIED.



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Allen v. District Court



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When the defendant is brought before a magistrate upon an arrest, either with or without a warrant, on a charge of having committed a public offense, the magistrate must immediately inform him of the charge against him, and of his right to the aid of counsel in every stage of the proceedings, and also of his right to waive an examination before any further proceedings are had. 22 O.S. 251

Writ Denied.