Case Summary Assignment
Olinda Rodriguez
Liberty University
Criminal Justice Ethics (B04)
Instructor’s Name: Dr. Banks
09/11/2023
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Case Summary Assignment
Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963)
The critical issues in the Brady v. Maryland case occurred due to the disregard of the
prosecutor to reveal absolving evidence during a criminal trial. In this case, the accused,
identified as John Brady, was found guilty of premeditated homicide, landing him a death
sentence. It was later unveiled that the prosecution had withheld crucial information
beneficial to Brady's defense on purpose, a statement from his accomplice confessing to the
actual murder (Center et al., 2016). This case sparked widespread debate about the
solicitor's duty to disclose information that could help the defense in a criminal case. It
scrutinized whether hiding such information could compromise the justness and integrity of
a trial since the whole truth would not be included in the outcome of the case.
Moreover, there was a debate over whether such an act constituted a breach of the
Constitution. Thus, the Supreme Court, in response to these concerns, pronounced that
failing to reveal exculpatory evidence damages the integrity "where the evidence is relevant
to either guilt or punishment," irrespective of the prosecution's intentions and motivations
(Worrall, 2007). This momentous ruling gave birth to what has been dubbed the Brady
disclosure, which compels the prosecution in a criminal case to share all evidence that could
absolve the defendant.
Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150 (1972)
In this distinguished case, the crux of the dispute rested on the responsibilities of the
solicitor and the elimination of potentially vital evidence. John Giglio was convicted of
forgery charges in the trial because of a statement from a witness who had been promised
immunity. The defense, however, had yet to be informed of this arrangement. Key debating
points included whether the prosecution was duty-bound to share evidence with the
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defense that could alter the trustworthiness of a government witness (Ingram, 2014). This
includes agreements, pledges, or incentives given to witnesses. The decisive question was
whether concealing such data violates the litigant's right to fair process. In another historic
judgment, the Court declared that if any party promises immunity to any witness in
exchange for their statement, the jury must be informed; otherwise, it would be regarded as
a failure to provide all pertinent evidence.
Consequently, this compromised the litigant's right to a just judicial proceeding because the
primary witness in the case was not objectively trustworthy. This judgment expanded the
Brady ruling to include evidence that could impact a witness's credibility, not just evidence
directly related to the crime (McCord et al., 2011). Thus, the Giglio v. United States case was
significant in framing the law about disclosing evidence in criminal cases that might help the
defendant.
United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97 (1976)
The underlying case dealt with a critical aspect of the legal system, raising questions about a
prosecutor's obligations in turning over potentially helpful evidence to the defense,
especially in scenarios where the defense did not request such evidence. The core debates
were based on whether the prosecutor is responsible for spontaneously providing significant
evidence that has not been explicitly asked for but is crucial to the case and the legal
implications of concealing such evidence as is stated in The Bible, "an honest witness tells
the truth, but a false witness tells lies" (English et al., 2016, Proverb. 12:17). It questioned
whether the omission of a true testimony infringed upon the defendant's rights and if it
warrants a retrial. Mapping out a critical legal precedent, the Supreme Court clearly stated
that it is indeed a constitutional responsibility of the attorney to reveal to the Court any
meaningful, relevant evidence – irrespective of whether the judiciary required it or not. The
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Court concluded that a retrial is obligatory if the eliminated piece of evidence brings about a
significant doubt that was not apparent until then (Lyon & Roseberry, 2022). In addition to
the central debate about an attorney's duty to openly offer evidence for the defendant even
when it is not asked for, the U.S. v. Agurs case raised some other concerns, like whether it
was acceptable to retrospectively analyze the importance of suppressed evidence after a
trial had been concluded. The case also delved into defining 'material' evidence with
precision. It raised questions about whether 'material' solely referred to evidence that could
alter the outcome or if this term also incorporated evidence that could have merely
benefited the defense's strategy (Cooper, 2016). Thus, the case not only reaffirmed the
principle that truth and justice should prevail in the legal system but also highlighted the
need to define and assess the materiality of concealed evidence carefully.
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References
Center, F. J., Hooper, L. L., Marsh, J. E., Yeh, B., & Press, P. H. (2016). Treatment of Brady
V. Maryland Material in United States District and State Courts’ Rules, Orders, and
Policies: Report to the Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules of the Judicial
Conference of the United States. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Cooper, S. L. (2016). Controversies in Innocence Cases in America. Taylor & Francis. ISBN:
1-317-16003-7
English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Crossway. https://www.esv.org/Proverbs+12/
Ingram, J. (2014). Criminal Evidence. Taylor & Francis.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003092360
Lyon, A. D., & Roseberry, C. W. (2022). Fixing Legal Injustice in America: The Case for a
Defender General of the United States. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN: 1-
5381-6466-3
McCord, J. W., McCord, S. L., & Bailey, C. S. (2011). Criminal Law and Procedure for the
Paralegal. Cengage Learning. ISBN: 1-133-41694-2
Worrall, J. L. (2007). Criminal procedure: From first contact to appeal. Pearson Allyn &
Bacon Boston. ISBN: 0-205-49310-6
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