Opinion ID: 1720066
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Demand for Police Investigative Reports

Text: The appellant sought, by discovery motion and subpoena duces tecum, the police investigative reports of this murder upon the grounds of (a) Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220; (b) the public records law, chapter 119, Florida Statutes (1977); and (c) the doctrine of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). The trial judge denied the motion, finding that appellant had failed to establish sufficient grounds either to require the court to order an in camera examination or to produce the discovery demanded. We agree. There is no constitutional right to discovery, and the Supreme Court of the United States has said there is no constitutional requirement that the prosecution make a complete and detailed accounting to the defense of all police investigatory work on a case. Moore v. Illinois, 408 U.S. 786, 795, 92 S.Ct. 2562, 2568, 33 L.Ed.2d 706 (1972). We recognize that the doctrine set forth in Brady v. Maryland and Giles v. Maryland, 386 U.S. 66, 87 S.Ct. 793, 17 L.Ed.2d 737 (1967), requires the prosecutor to disclose material exculpatory information that the prosecutor has in his possession. However, as stated by the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 108, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 2399, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976), [T]he prosecutor will not have violated his constitutional duty of disclosure unless his omission is of sufficient significance to result in the denial of the defendant's right to a fair trial. The court further stated that The mere possibility that an item of undisclosed information might have helped the defense, or might have affected the outcome of the trial, does not establish `materiality' in the constitutional sense. 427 U.S. at 109-10, 96 S.Ct. at 2400, 2401. To grant the request of the appellant under the circumstances of this record would require the police to produce all their investigative reports for all defendants charged with criminal offenses. We reject this contention and find that neither the federal constitution, the Brady doctrine, Florida criminal rules pertaining to discovery, nor the Florida statutes mandate disclosure or in camera inspection of these police investigative reports. Disclosure requirements for the prosecution principally concern those matters not accessible to the defense in the course of reasonably diligent preparation. We find the appellant had the benefit of all relevant information and was able to discover much more than would be available in most other jurisdictions, including the federal courts. Compare Fla.R. Crim.P. 3.220(a) with Fed.R.Crim.P. 16(a). We have broad discovery rules, and defendants must diligently utilize them. See State v. Gillespie, 227 So.2d 550 (Fla.2d DCA 1969). The prosecutor is obligated under our reciprocal discovery rules to provide the defendant with a broad range of information relevant to the offense. Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.220(a). Nothing in this record demonstrates that the state has not complied or has acted in any improper manner. Indeed, it appears that the state voluntarily gave the defense information pertaining to police records of prospective witnesses which was neither required by discovery rules nor otherwise available to defense counsel. We conclude there is no merit in appellant's broad-brush demand for police investigative reports.