Section 11.2 Formal Discovery

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

A. (§11.2) Formal Discovery

Rule 25.03(A)(2) provides that, on written request from the defendant’s counsel, the state shall disclose to the defendant “[a]ny written or recorded statements and the substance of any oral statements made by the defendant or by a co-defendant, a list of all witnesses to the making, and a list of all witnesses to the acknowledgment, of such statements, and the last known addresses of such witnesses.” The government must disclose these statements even if it does not intend to introduce them in its case-in-chief, but instead seeks to reserve them for impeachment. State v. Farr¸ 69 S.W.3d 517, 522–23 (Mo. App. S.D. 2001); State v. Willis, 2 S.W.3d 801, 806 (Mo. App. W.D. 1999).

The sanction to be imposed for a violation of Rule 25.03 lies within the discretion of the trial court. State v. Edwards, 116 S.W.3d 511, 534 (Mo. banc 2003). When the state fails to comply with the timely disclosure requirement of Rule...