People v. Gray, 2016 IL App (1st) 141196 (March). Episode 152 (Duration 4:03)

Drug officers were themselves charged with distributing narcotics and Defendant was not told about the investigation before he plead guilty to his own drug charges.

How Broad Exactly Is the Brady Requirement?

5 months after defendant plead guilty for 12 years the officers on his case were themselves indicted.

Defendant contends he should have been told of their investigation and had he known would have never plead guilty.

However, the Brady rule does not apply before a guilty plea. See United States v. Ruiz, 536 U.S. 622 (2002). The “fairness of a trial” (with which Brady is concerned) is not equivalent for all purposes to “whether a plea is voluntary.” (Emphases in original.) Brady material is required to be disclosed as part of the normal discovery process.

“[T]he Constitution does not require the prosecutor to share all useful information with the defendant.” Impeachment evidence is “particularly difficult” to characterize “as critical information of which the defendant must always be aware prior to pleading guilty given the random way in which such information may, or may not, help a particular defendant.”

Yea, but isn’t there some rule of professional responsibility that would have required the prosecutor disclose the officer’s status?