What Are Brady Claims? | Federal Criminal Defense Explained

Hey, this is Elizabeth, and today I wanted to talk a little bit about what a Brady Claim is. A Brady Claim refers to evidence that is in the possession of the state or law enforcement that is material and that either exculpates a defendant or can be used to impeach a witness. This is information that the state or the gov— or the government must turn over to the defendant before trial. A defendant has a federal constitutional right to Brady information, and if it's withheld, a defendant is entitled to have his or her case reversed. And this comes from the case Brady v. Maryland, which was issued in 1963, back when Earl Warren was the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. And there were a number of cases issued that protected the rights of defendants. So Brady information might be something like an informant is paid money by the state, but defense counsel wasn't informed of that fact. Or the state knows there was another suspect in the crime, but they don't hand over investigation notes about that suspect. Or someone else confessed to the crime, but the state doesn't tell defense counsel. So a number of different things can be Brady material, but what they all have in common is that it's important or material evidence, that it's in the possession or knowledge of the state or law enforcement, and it was not disclosed to defense counsel. If those things can be shown, it doesn't matter if the prosecution intentionally withheld it or if it was an accident. A defendant is entitled to a reversal. So any post-conviction investigation into a case requires that counsel undertake to try and find any Brady information that may not have been disclosed. Doing so can provide the basis for relief from a conviction. So if you have any questions about Brady material, please call our firm at 803-445-1333, and a member of our team will be more than happy to discuss it with you. Thank you.