Information from Informants Now Fair Game in Criminal Discovery: Jailhouse “snitches” no longer protected by rules of criminal procedure
The Florida Supreme Court amended the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure last week, stripping Florida state prosecutors of their discretion to disclose information about informants. Under a new rule that lifts the curtain on the jailhouse snitches who long have been the source of false testimony in criminal cases, juries will be provided a more complete picture of the context of an informant’s testimony.
The Innocence Commission estimates that as many
as 15 percent of convictions later overturned by DNA testing involved false testimony by informants at trial and that informant perjury was a factor in nearly 50 percent of wrongful murder convictions and in 46 percent of exonerations for death row inmates.
New Procedure rules protect defendants from self-serving informant testimony
New Procedure rules protect defendants from self-serving informant testimony
No longer protected by the rules, informant witnesses are now included in the general witness category under the discovery rules, which require prosecutors to disclose any material information that an informant provides to law enforcement. Material information can include: the informant’s criminal history, any plea deals that were agreed upon in exchange for informant testimony, whether the informant cooperated with law enforcement in the past as well as the exact time and place where a defendant made the incriminating statement to informant.
The opinion is an important one for those charged with crimes in Florida. Up until the ruling, prosecutors and police were able to hide behind their informants, even when the informants themselves were unreliable and at times, biased, to testify the way the State needed them to. Prosecutors are no longer the gatekeepers to this information, instead, the relevance of material information shifts to a trial court judge.
The new rule will give juries a more complete picture of informant witnesses, allowing them to weigh the informant’s partiality. Usually, in exchange for their testimony, informants are promised leniency, a practice most prevalent in Florida drug trafficking cases.
How We Can Help
If you, a friend or a family member find themselves in a situation such as this, please call the Law Office of Scott A. Ferris, P.A. at 305 670-3330 right away. Scott A. Ferris, Esq. is a licensed criminal law attorney who has been practicing law since 1987. He is available whenever you need him to defend your rights. Please learn about our firm at www.FerrisLawFirm.com.
Republished by the Law Office of Scott A. Ferris, P.A.