Court Opinion

ID: 9687735
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 16:45:05.68067+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:30.789640
License: Public Domain

PAGE, Justice
(concurring in part and dissenting in part).
I concur in the result reached by the court with respect to appellant Brunner. But I respectfully dissent in the result with respect to appellant Underdahl.
Under our Rules of Criminal Procedure, a defendant has “wide latitude in requesting and receiving discovery, and district courts are afforded broad discretion to make discovery rulings.” State v. Burrell, 697 N.W.2d 579, 604 (Minn.2005). When reviewing a district court’s discovery order, our role is solely to determine whether the district court clearly abused its discretion by making “findings unsupported by the evidence or by improperly applying the law.” In re Comm’r of Pub. Safety (Underdahl I), 735 N.W.2d 706, 711 (Minn. 2007). The district court found that, “[b]e-cause the testing method is something that the jury will ultimately have to consider and because the computer source code is relevant to that testing method, the source code directly relates to the guilt or innocence of Defendant. Accordingly, the source code is discoverable.”
Under Minn. R.Crim. P. 9.01, subd. 2(3), a trial court may order, in its discretion, the disclosure of “any relevant material ... provided, however, a showing is made that the information may relate to the guilt or innocence of the defendant or negate guilt or reduce the culpability of the defendant as to the offense charged.” Thus, in order to be discoverable in this case, the source code must be relevant, and must relate to Underdahl’s guilt or innocence. The language of this rule comes from the ABA Standards, which provide that a judge may order disclosure of information *688“[u]pon a showing that items ... are material to the preparation of the case.” ABA Standards for Criminal Justice: Discovery and Trial by Jury Standard ll-4.3(e) (3d ed. 1996); see also Minn. R.Crim. P. 9 cmt.
The court today places a heavier burden on Underdahl than Rule 9.01, subd. 2(3), requires. The court requires Underdahl to show that the “source code ‘could be related to [his] defense or why the [source code] was reasonably likely to contain information related to the case.’ ” (Emphasis added.) (Quoting State v. Hummel, 483 N.W.2d 68, 72 (Minn.1992).) But under Rule 9.01, subd. 2(3), Underdahl only had to make a showing that the information requested “may relate to [his] guilt or innocence.”
In this case, guilt or innocence depends on Underdahl’s blood alcohol content. His blood alcohol content is assessed by the Intoxilyzer 5000EN. The source code of the Intoxilyzer 5000EN is the programming instruction used by the machine to assess blood alcohol content. The operation of the source code determines the reliability of the Intoxilyzer 5000EN’s blood alcohol content readings. The reliability of the Intoxilyzer 5000EN is a question that the jury will have to decide before determining Underdahl’s guilt or innocence. Thus, I conclude that the source code relates to Underdahl’s guilt or innocence and that, under Rule 9.01, subd. 2(3), its disclosure is required.1

. I note that a district court has already granted Underdahl discovery of “the complete computer source code for the operation of the [Intoxilyzer 5000EN]” in his implied consent case. Underdahl I, 735 N.W.2d at 708. In order to be discoverable, the source code must have been " 'relevant to a claim or defense of any party' " and “ 'reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.’ ” Id. at 712 (quoting Minn. R. Civ. P. 26.02(a)). We affirmed the court of appeals' denial of a writ of prohibition sought by the State to prevent the district court from enforcing its order. Id. at 708. We concluded that the Commissioner of Public Safety "failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that the [source code being] sought is clearly not discoverable.” Id. at 712.
At the omnibus hearing in this case, Under-dahl presented our decision in Underdahl I to the district court. While Underdahl I does not dictate the district court’s decision in this case, I conclude that, because the district court knew that discovery of the source code had been ordered in Underdahl's implied consent proceeding, the district court did not abuse its discretion when it ordered disclosure in this criminal proceeding. The court's decision today greatly infringes upon the district court's broad discretion to make discovery rulings. Further, I believe it is anomalous that Underdahl is entitled to have access to the source code when his right to drive is at stake, but he is denied access to that same source code when his right to liberty is threatened.