Opinion ID: 1708076
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Cabral v. State

Text: In Cabral v. State, 699 So.2d 294 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997), Carlo Cabral and Jason Thomas were indicted for first-degree murder. Thomas participated in discovery under rule 3.220 and received the State's file. Cabral then made a chapter 119 demand for the same file. Although the State complied, it requested that the trial court compel Cabral to submit to reciprocal discovery per rule 3.220. The trial court agreed and ordered Cabral to submit to reciprocal discovery. On petition for writ of certiorari, Cabral argued that his public records requests were independent of criminal discovery under rule 3.220 and, therefore, because he proceeded under chapter 119, he should not incur a reciprocal discovery obligation. Id. at 295. The Fifth District denied Cabral's petition, reasoning that: [B]ut for the release to the codefendant, the records would not have been available to Cabral under a public records request. We believe that the action of one defendant in requesting reciprocal discovery and a codefendant seeking the same records pursuant to chapter 119 is nothing less than knowingly and purposely sharing in the discovery obtained by a codefendant under the rule and that the trial court was right in so determining. Id. (citations omitted).