How Long Does it Take to Get Discovery in a Criminal Case? Generally, the prosecution must provide discovery within a set period after the defense's formal request, often ranging from a few weeks to several months.
Parties may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, which is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action, whether it relates to the claim or defense of the party seeking discovery or to the claim or defense of any other party, including the existence, description, nature, custody, ...
The parties shall complete discovery, including depositions, by 30 days before trial; however, depositions taken in lieu of live testimony at trial will be permitted until 15 days before trial.
Under the Rules, a written motion must be filed to ask for discovery. It must be filed at least 10 days before trial. What Information Must the Prosecutor Provide? In general, discovery is limited to information that the prosecutor or local law enforcement has.
The party upon whom the request is served must serve a written response within 21 days after the service of the request, except that a defendant may serve a response within 28 days after service of the complaint upon that defendant. The court may allow a shorter or longer time.
Usually, the first thing after you've looked at it is to go over it with your client, the defendant. At least theoretically, the discovery material should show you how to proceed. Sometimes the discovery is enough to convince a client and his attorney that the best choice is to work out the best possible disposition.