Ten years ago, the Texas Legislature passed The Michael Morton Act, expanding and reforming criminal defendants’ discovery rights under Section 39.14 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. But since then, litigants have fought over the meaning and limits of the new discovery statute. The most recent bout has concluded with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals’ (CCA) opinion in State v. Heath., S.W.3d, No. PD-0156-22, 2024 WL 2952387 (Tex. Crim. App. June 12, 2024).
The discovery fight in Heath centered on the breadth of a prosecutor’s duties under Article 39.14. Article 39.14(a) requires “the State” to produce discovery “as soon as practicable after receiving a timely request” from the defendant. The plain text of the statute raises many questions: Who is included in the definition of “the State”? When is “as soon as practicable”? Does a violation of the statute require a showing of bad faith on the part of a prosecutor? What remedies can trial courts order for discovery violations?