Opinion ID: 1708076
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Chapter 119 and Florida Criminal Discovery

Text: As recently explained by the Fourth District, [t]he general purpose of the Public Records Act (Chapter 119, Florida Statutes (1995)), is to open public records to allow Florida's citizens to discover the actions of their government. Christy v. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, 698 So.2d 1365, 1366 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997) (citing City of Riviera Beach v. Barfield, 642 So.2d 1135, 1136 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)). To foster that purpose, the Act should be construed liberally in favor of openness. Barfield, 642 So.2d at 1136. In a similar vein, the purpose of Florida's criminal discovery rules is to avail the defense of evidence known to the state so that convictions will not be obtained by the suppression of evidence favorable to a defendant or by surprise tactics in the courtroom. State v. Tascarella, 580 So.2d 154, 156 (Fla.1991); accord Post-Newsweek Stations, Florida Inc. v. Doe, 612 So.2d 549, 553 (Fla.1992) (reaffirming purposes of criminal discovery as narrowing issues, ascertaining relevant facts, and providing information to both parties so as to avoid surprise tactics in the courtroom). Rule 3.220(a) was added to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure in 1989. In re Amendment to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220 (Discovery), 550 So.2d 1097 (Fla.1989). The new subdivision was included to insure that if a defendant utilizes the discovery process, he or she will be required to reciprocate fully in discovery with the prosecution. Id. at 1098. The comments to the amendment explain, in pertinent part, that: The purpose of this change is to ensure reciprocity of discovery. Under the previous rule, the defendant could tailor discovery, demanding only certain items of discovery with no requirement to reciprocate items other than those demanded. A defendant could avoid reciprocal discovery by taking depositions, thereby learning of witnesses through the deposition process, and then deposing those witnesses without filing a demand for discovery. With this change, once a defendant opts to use any discovery device, the defendant is required to produce all items designated under the discovery rule, whether or not the defendant has specifically requested production of those items. 550 So.2d at 1104-05. While these comments are not a formal part of rule 3.220, id. at 1099, they indicate the general thrust of this amendment to the criminal discovery rules.