Near the end of the year, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that the Ohio Supreme Court had "approved amendments to Rule 16 of the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure that will require greater sharing of evidence between prosecutors and defense attorneys before a trial."
The amendment still has to be sent to the General Assembly for approval, but, back in May, the two houses issues a joint resolution to the Supreme Court requesting that it amend the rule to provide for more open discovery. That done, the amendment would take effect July 1, 2010.
"Open discovery" has been an issued debated – at least in Ohio – for some time, with both sides having points in their favor. "The new procedures would eliminate some of the 'gamesmanship' by both prosecutors and defense lawyers," Cleveland defense attorney Ian Friedman, who led the recent charge for open discovery as president of the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said.
Eight Ohio District Court of Appeals Judge Sean Gallagher in Cleveland, Ohio, told the Plain Dealer that the Supreme Court's approval was " like solving a major international conflict (or) peace in the Middle East." Judge Gallagher is chairman of the Ohio Supreme Court's Commission on the Rules of Practice & Procedure.
(See also our posting from May 20th. on "Open Discovery")
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