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Do military (DoD) lawyers know the meaning of “Brady material?”
Personally, from experience, I’m not sure they do. However, Judge Emmett Sullivan, of the D.C. for D.C. doesn’t think so.
Here is an item on The BLT: The Blog of LegalTimes, Judge Threatens Justice Lawyers With Contempt Over Detainee Documents, 13 March 2009.
So-called Brady rules require prosecutors to hand over information to defense attorneys that might prove a client’s innocence. In an earlier filing, the Justice Department said it would be “unfeasible” to allow only its own prosecutors, who generally have Brady experience, to review detainee evidence. Right now, much of that material is initially inspected by attorneys from the Department of Defense.
“The government’s argument raises the disturbing implication that the attorneys conducting the review in this and other habeas cases (who presumably are not criminal prosecutors from DOJ) do not have the necessary experience with and knowledge of the government’s Brady obligations,” Sullivan wrote.