The Confidential Informant File: What Is It and When Must It Be Disclosed to the Defense?

I recently completed a series of posts on issues surrounding confidential informants (“CI’s”), discovery, and motions to reveal the CI’s identity. In this “bonus” post, I will discuss a related question: what is the “CI file” and when must the State turn it over to the defense? Let’s say the defense is successful in compelling the State to turn over the CI’s identity. Perhaps the State agrees that the CI’s involvement is central to the case and the defense will likely win under the test outlined in Roviaro v. U.S., 353 U.S. 53 (1957) (see discussion here), so the State voluntarily turns over the CI’s identity. Perhaps the defense prevails in a contested hearing on a motion to reveal the CI’s identity. Or perhaps the State decides that the trade-off of “blowing the CI’s cover” is worth it to prove the individual case against the defendant, and the State chooses to call the CI to the stand. In all three scenarios, the defense will learn the CI’s name, but key questions remain. Is the CI a trustworthy witness? What is the CI’s history of reliability or lack thereof? What is the CI getting in exchange for cooperation? Is the CI being paid by the State? Is the CI in legal jeopardy, and if so, what promises of leniency have been made? The answer to these questions, and more, may be located in a file law enforcement keeps for each individual CI. It is common for law enforcement agencies, especially larger agencies [...]