Discovery in Delinquency Cases

The Juvenile Code provides explicit procedure for discovery in juvenile delinquency matters. This procedure does not mirror the law that governs discovery in criminal matters. The statutes also do not address the constitutional obligation for disclosure of certain exculpatory evidence under the standard established in Brady v. Maryland, 83 S.Ct. 1194 (1963). This post explains both the statutory framework for and constitutional obligation regarding discovery in delinquency cases. Statutory Right to Discovery Article 23 of Subchapter II of Chapter 7B of the General Statutes contains the state law regarding discovery in delinquency matters. Juvenile Statutory Right to Discovery Triggered by Motion Under G.S. 7B-2300, the juvenile is entitled to certain discovery in a delinquency proceeding after the juvenile makes a motion for those items. While the juvenile’s statutory right to discovery is predicated on this motion, the prosecutor is allowed to voluntarily disclose information in the absence of such a motion when that disclosure is “in the interest of justice.” G.S. 7B-2300(f). Materials That Must be Disclosed to the Juvenile After making a motion, the juvenile is entitled to certain materials. The statute generally refers to the obligation of the “petitioner” to provide these materials but is unclear about who the petitioner is in this context. Petitioner is defined as “[t]he individual who initiates court action by the filing of a petition or a motion for review alleging the matter for adjudication.” (G.S. 7B-1501(20)). The procedure for initiating a delinquency court action involves a range of entities including a complainant, the [...]