It's so nice when the Court of Appeal includes an introduction that's simultaneously concise and comprehensive. It makes reading the remainder of the opinion so easy.
As in today's opinion:
"The Brady rule (Brady v. Maryland (1963) 373 U.S.
83 (Brady)) is over 50 years old. It is alive, well, and as we
explain, it is self executing. There need be no motion, request, or
objection to trigger disclosure. The prosecution has a sua sponte
duty to provide Brady information."
Couldn't be clearer.
Particularly in this context. The police officer testified that defendant waived his Miranda rights before admitting that he used a firearm to threaten the victim. But there's a dashcam video that establishes the opposite. A video that the prosecution didn't provide to the defendant.
The Attorney General says that's not error because the defendant never asked for the video, and hence waived the error. No dice. "The Attorney General cites no authority, and we
have found none, that Brady error is waived by defendant’s
failure to object."
Concise and comprehensive again.
