Opinion ID: 76969
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Pretrial Disclosure of Exculpatory Material

Text: 6 On November 17, 1990, after an in camera review of what had been represented as the entire case file of the State, the trial court ordered the prosecution to release more than 400 pages of exculpatory material to Stephens. On the morning of November 19, 1990, the day trial was to begin, Stephens's four co-defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. That same morning, Stephens requested a continuance on the grounds that he had not had enough time to review the recently-produced documents and the guilty pleas unexpectedly cost him any assistance he might have received from the attorneys for the other defendants. The trial court denied the motion for a continuance, but after Stephens's attorney then declined to give an opening statement or examine the first witness of the State on the ground that he was not prepared to do so, the trial judge granted a one-week recess. 7