Opinion ID: 2525464
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: Failing to respond properly to the midtrial disclosure of an incriminating letter written by appellant

Text: During the trial the prosecutor provided the defense with a copy of a letter to Shirannah Rice written by Evans. In the letter Evans asked Rice to change her testimony to help him in this case. Defense counsel learned of the letter after they had begun to cross-examine Rice. Rice had given the letter to the prosecutor that morning, the prosecutor did not read it until lunch hour, and then he provided it to the defense. Defense counsel moved for a complete continuance of the trial until the next morning or at least the continuance of Rice's cross-examination and any testimony by Alicia and Adriana Ventura until the next day. The district court granted the latter remedy, and other witnesses testified that afternoon. Evans claims that the district court abused its discretion in not continuing the trial for the afternoon and that he was prejudiced because concern about the letter distracted his counsel's attention from effectively cross-examining the State's witnesses that afternoon and Alicia and Adriana Ventura the next day. He also claims that his trial counsel were ineffective in failing to convince the court to exclude the evidence. Evans's claim that he was prejudiced remains conclusory; he does not specify how the cross-examination of any witnesses was inadequate. Moreover, the evidence was properly admitted. NRS 174.295(1) provides that if a party discovers additional material during trial which is subject to discovery, it shall promptly notify the other party or the court of the existence of the material. NRS 174.295(2) provides that if a party fails to comply with discovery provisions, the court may order the discovery of the undisclosed material, prohibit its introduction into evidence, grant a continuance, or enter such other order as it deems just under the circumstances. The district court has broad discretion in fashioning a remedy under this statute; it does not abuse its discretion absent a showing that the State acted in bad faith or that the nondisclosure caused substantial prejudice to the defendant which was not alleviated by the court's order. [66] Evans implies that the State may have acted in bad faith: he argues that there is no evidence that the prosecutor did not already know about the letter before it came into his possession. We discern no support for this speculation. Evans also asserts that the letter was a written statement by Evans that was not disclosed to him in violation of NRS 174.235. [67] Assuming that this statute applies here, we conclude that it was complied with. The record indicates the prosecutor disclosed the letter to the defense as soon as he learned its significance; therefore, no discovery violation occurred. And, despite the unavoidably late disclosure of the letter, no substantial prejudice resulted. The district court provided an appropriate remedy by postponing the cross-examination of the letter's recipient and the testimony of two other key witnesses.