§ 21.07 Jencks Act

• Jurisdiction: United States

§ 21.07 Jencks Act

Rule 612 does not apply to writings that are governed by the Jencks Act.²¹ Currently, Criminal Rule 26.2 regulates this subject.²² Like the Jencks Act, it limits discovery of witness's prior statements until after direct examination has been completed. In effect, Criminal Rule 26.2 is a trial (rather than a pretrial) discovery provision. The criminal rule applies to defense witnesses as well as to prosecution witnesses.²³

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Notes:

^[21] 18 U.S.C. § 3500.

^[22] Fed. R. Crim. P. 26.2(a) ("After a witness other than the defendant has testified on direct examination, the court, on motion of a party who did not call the witness, must order an attorney for the government or the defendant and the defendant's attorney to produce, for the examination and use of the moving party, any statement of the witness that is in their possession and that relates to the subject matter of the witness's testimony.").

^[23] The Supreme Court upheld production of defense witness statements in United States v. Nobles, 422 U.S. 225 (1975).