Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

Rule 3.220 governs a defendant's election to participate in discovery. By filing a notice, or by taking some other action covered by the rule, the defendant triggers a state obligation to provide to the defendant the evidence against the defendant that the prosecutor has in the case. The defendant then has to provide certain evidence to the prosecutor in return. An excerpt is pasted below. You can find the full rule here.

RULE 3.220. DISCOVERY

(a) Notice of Discovery. After the filing of the charging document, a defendant may elect to participate in the discovery process provided by these rules, including the taking of discovery depositions, by filing with the court and serving on the prosecuting attorney a �Notice of Discovery� which shall bind both the prosecu-tion and defendant to all discovery procedures contained in these rules. Participation by a defendant in the discovery process, including the taking of any deposition by a defendant or the filing of a public records re-quest under chapter 119, Florida Statutes, for law enforcement records relating to the defendant�s pending

prosecution, which are nonexempt as a result of a codefendant�s participation in discovery, shall be an elec-tion to participate in discovery and triggers a reciprocal discovery obligation for the defendant. If any defen-dant knowingly or purposely shares in discovery obtained by a codefendant, the defendant shall be deemed to have elected to participate in discovery.

http://www.ExpungeRecordFlorida.com.