Evidence Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Evidence - Research Paper Example While the $10 note serial number that was used by the undercover police officer had matched the one that the defendant was found possessing in his pocket after the drug was purchased, the discrepancy emanated from the description of the defendant by the â€Å"Eye† officer, who gave details such as the defendant being seen wearing a V-necked T-shirt, with a key on his chain and holding a ginger dale bottle (Weingarten, n.d.). The â€Å"Eye† officer further alleged to have seen the defendant from a distance of 50 to 60 feet, which in reality turned out to be 172 feet distance from the investigations that were later carried out (Weingarten, n.d.). Thus, it is the full disclosure of the evidence from the prosecution side, which allowed the defending side to realize the discrepancy and thus the consequent deceitfulness of the police officer. The purpose of broad disclosure is to help the defense and the prosecution side to prepare well for the case. Especially, broad disclos ure of the evidence held by the prosecution is required, to avoid surprises to the defense, during the trial (Ferdico, 72). Additionally, broad disclosure of evidence is necessary because; it is through the broad disclosure of the evidence, that any disparity and discrepancy can be identified, which then would serve to tell whether either side of the case is being genuine and truthful, or otherwise (Federal Judicial Center, 33). The broad disclosure is also essential, since it allows for the court to have both incriminating and exculpatory information, which then allows it to determine the guilt or otherwise of the defendant. Thus, it is through broad disclosure that a balanced case is enhanced, which then serves to identify the truth, and inform the necessary action by the courts. Various penalties have been set out for failing to give the broad disclosure of evidence, especially the exculpatory evidence, which could help the court determine that the defendant was not guilty, and t hus set him/her free. The first penalty is that; the court may order the party that did not make the necessary disclosure to do it at a specific time, place and manner (Gardner and Terry, 40). The court may also penalize the party that did not make the full disclosure, through allowing the opposing party some more time to go through the newly disclosed evidence, so that the party can prepare well for the trial. Thus, the party that failed to disclose evidence appropriately is punished through having the case being deferred to a later date (Keane and Paul, 63). Finally, the biggest and most punishing penalty that the party that failed to disclose appropriately might get is that, it may be prevented to use the evidence that it did not disclose to the opposing party in the case (Khan, 12). This means that; no matter how useful and convincing the evidence might be, the party will not take the advantage of such information to prove their case. However, there is some evidence that is exem pted from disclosure, which is provided under the exclusionary rule of evidence discovery. Under this rule, it is provided that; the work product of the government shall not be disclosed (Gardner and Terry, 44). This rule provides that any documents that have been made by the government in the course of the investigation or prosecution of the case shall remain confidential, and thus