The Decision to Provide Discovery: An Examination of Policies and Guilty Pleas

Prosecutorial discretion in the discovery process has significant implications for defendants’ rights in the plea context. The Supreme Court has not clarified whether prosecutors must disclose traditional exculpatory evidence in the plea process, but it has permitted prosecutors to withhold exculpatory impeachment evidence during plea negotiations. As a result of the Court’s ambiguity, only eleven states have explicit rules regarding prosecutorial conduct related to exculpatory evidence in the plea discovery process, and each state varies in its plea discovery policies. This study examined the differing effects of an open-file discovery policy and a policy that permits the prosecution to withhold exculpatory evidence during plea negotiations (“Ruiz policy”). The results indicated that the mere presence of a certain policy influenced prosecutor-participants’ behaviors. An open-file policy consistently led to more exculpatory evidence being disclosed during discovery, while the Ruiz policy had the opposite effect. An open-file policy also increased the likelihood of a plea deal being offered, but it was not a notable predictor of the decision to offer a plea or go to trial.

“[T]he open-file manipulation influenced the decisions to offer a plea (or proceed to trial) and recommended sentences. Participants in the open-file conditions were more likely to offer plea deals and offered more lenient sentences than those not in the open-file conditions.” p. 317