Full Disclosure

• Author: Wendy Davis
• Pages: 16-18

The Docket

EDITED BY KEVIN DAVIS / KEVIN.DAVIS@AMERICANBAR.ORG

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SARA WADFORD/SHUTTERSTOCK

National

Pulse

16 || ABA JOURNAL MAY 2018

Full Disclosure

New York considers changing discovery rules that often leave

defense lawyers in the dark

By Wendy Davis

In August 2015, soon after Terrell Gill s

was arraig ned on charges that he robbed

a Dunkin’ Donuts in New York City, his

defense attorney went online to se ek

more detail s about the case.

Through a Google search a bout the

robbery, attorney Maria Ma rtinez uncovered a news

item about a Dunkin’ Donuts bandit sus pected of robbing

three of the franchi se’s locations. Al l three incidents

happened in Queens during the las t week of May 2015.

Gills, 34 at the time, ha d been charged in one.

In the 18 months following Gills’ arr aignment, lawyer

Martinez from t he Legal Aid Society repeated ly asked

the prosecutor for information about the other t wo

robberies. Gills wa s held at Rikers Island that entire

time, unable to post the $10,000 bail.

Finally, in February 2017, four days before the case

was slated for tria l, the prosecutor submitted reports

from the detectives w ho arrested Gills. Those reports

revealed that a dif ferent person had been arrested for

the other two robberies. The prosecut or then disclosed

that the other suspect ha d pleaded guilty in January 2016

and was serv ing a nine-year sentence.

The next day, Martinez, along w ith co-counsel Jenny

Cheung and a paralegal, d rove about 80 miles to the

Downstate Cor rectional Facility in Fishki ll to meet

with the person responsible for the other t wo robberies.

Martinez showed that su spect videos of the other two

incidents, which she had subpoenaed f rom the stores.

He then confessed to also com mitting the third robbery.

Even with that informat ion, Martinez couldn’t get

the prosecutor to drop the cha rges. Instead, the case

went to trial, where Mar tinez argued that Gills had be en

wrongly identifi ed. She says the initial repor ts described

the robber as 6 feet tall a nd about 200 pounds. Gills

was 5-foot-6 and 120 pound s when arrested. A jury

acquitted him a fter a few hours of deliberations.

Martinez says ha d she known earlier someone else

had been prosecuted for the other t wo robberies, her cli-

ent almost certa inly would have gotten out of jail sooner.

She says she would have used the information about the

other defendant to apply for Gills to be releas ed on his