Evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal trial that tends to exonerate defendant
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Exculpatory evidence is evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal trial that exonerates or tends to exonerate the defendant of guilt.[1] It is the opposite of inculpatory evidence, which tends to present guilt.
In many countries, including the United States, police and prosecutors are required to disclose to the defendant exculpatory evidence they possess before the defendant enters a plea (guilty or not guilty).[2] In some countries such as Germany, the prosecutor has to actively search for both exculpatory and inculpatory circumstances and evidence before filing of action.[3]
Per the Brady v. Maryland decision, prosecutors in the United States have a duty to disclose exculpatory evidence even if not requested to do so. While the prosecution is not required to search for exculpatory evidence and must disclose only the evidence in its possession, custody, or control, the prosecution's duty is to disclose all information known to any member of its team, e.g., police, investigators, crime labs, et cetera. In Brady v. Maryland, the U.S. Supreme Court held that such a requirement follows from constitutional due process and is consistent with the prosecutor's duty to seek justice.[4] The Brady doctrine is a pretrial discovery rule that was established by the United States Supreme Court in Brady v. Maryland (1963).[5] The rule requires that the prosecution must turn over all exculpatory evidence to the defendant in a criminal case. Exculpatory evidence is evidence that might exonerate the defendant.[6]
^Lehman, Jeffrey; Phelps, Shirelle (2005). West's Encyclopedia of American Law, Vol. 7 (2 ed.). Detroit: Thomson/Gale. p. 286. ISBN 9780787663742.
^"Plea Bargains: Necessary Tool, Or Cop-Out?". NPR. Talk of the Nation. Retrieved 20 November 2021., Quote from Prof. Laurie Levenson: "Prof. SCHECK: ... that didn't commit the crime. But I think the problem is that under the law now, number one, prosecutors are not obligated to provide exculpatory evidence to grand juries who are considering whether or not to indict a defendant. And number two, there's no real requirement at all that prosecutors disclose exculpatory evidence to defendants prior to the time they decide to plead."
^
§ 160 (2)
Strafprozessordnung (StPO) [Code of Criminal Procedure] of 2021-09-14
^James W. H. McCord, Sandra L. McCord (2001). Criminal Law And Procedure For The Paralegal: A Systems Approach. Thomson Delmar Learning. p. 454. ISBN 0-7668-1965-5.
^John Kaplan, Robert Weisberg, and Guyora Binder, Criminal Law - Cases and Materials 4 (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, 7th ed. 2012).
^Garner, Bryan A. (1999) [1891]. "Exculpatory evidence". Black's Law Dictionary (7th ed.). St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing. p. 577. ISBN 0-314-22864-0. exculpatory evidence Evidence tending to establish a criminal defendant's innocence ● The prosecution has a duty to disclose exculpatory evidence in its possession or control when the evidence may be material to the outcome of the case.
and 22 Related for: Exculpatory evidence information
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great influence over wide areas of procedure, eligible crimes, acceptable evidence and method of execution. Wilkerson v. Utah, 99 U.S. 130 (1879) – Firing...
meant that this potentially crucial exculpatoryevidence could not be tested. "It's a very sneaky way to get evidence destroyed. It seems very deliberate...
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charges because the federal government had withheld potentially exculpatoryevidence. Bundy has participated in, and had links with various related movements...
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analysis, and disposition of materials, including physical or electronic evidence. Of particular importance in criminal cases, the concept is also applied...
had died from natural causes, but the evidence had not been disclosed to the defence. This exculpatoryevidence had been known to the prosecution's pathologist...
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Privy Council in Britain, the convictions were quashed because of exculpatoryevidence that had been withheld at the first trial, and a re-trial was ordered...
twenty individuals had been exonerated while on death row due to DNA evidence. Capital punishment debate in the United States Capital punishment in the...
conditional pardons in 2009 from then-Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. New exculpatoryevidence was found after that and the Norfolk Four were exonerated in 2017...