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Key Facts
- Federal level: Brady v. Maryland holds that suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process when the evidence is material to guilt or punishment, regardless of good or bad faith.
- National overview: Napue v. Illinois holds that convictions obtained through use of false evidence known to be such by state representatives violate the Fourteenth Amendment, and the judgment may require reversal when the false testimony could have affected the outcome.
- National overview: ABA Model Rule 3.8(d) requires timely disclosure to the defense of evidence or information known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt of the accused or mitigates the offense.
- National overview: ABA Model Rule 3.8(d) also requires sentencing disclosure of unprivileged mitigating information to the defense and the tribunal unless the prosecutor is relieved by a protective order of the tribunal.
- National overview: ABA Model Rule 3.8(g) requires a prosecutor who knows of new, credible, and material evidence creating a reasonable likelihood of non-commission to promptly disclose it and undertake further investigation or cause an investigation.
- National overview: ABA Model Rule 3.8(h) requires a prosecutor who knows of clear and convincing evidence that a defendant in the prosecutor’s jurisdiction was convicted of an offense the defendant did not commit to seek to remedy the conviction.
- National overview: The ABANow archive report says the ABA filed an amicus brief in the Louisiana case of Juan Smith v. Burl Cain, Warden, asking the Supreme Court to reaffirm that prosecutors’ ethical disclosure obligations can be broader than constitutional Brady standards for post-trial nondisclosure claims.
The ABANow archive report about the ABA’s 2011 filing in Juan Smith v. Burl Cain, Warden describes an effort to influence the U.S. Supreme Court’s view of prosecutors’ disclosure duties by comparing an ethics-based framing to constitutional due process rules under Brady; the analysis below uses those stated goals along with ABA Model Rule 3.8 and the relevant Supreme Court precedents as primary legal Sources.
- Ethical disclosure obligations versus constitutional Brady duties
- A compact comparison of constitutional due process and ABA ethics rules
- What *Brady v. Maryland* establishes for due process
- What *Napue v. Illinois* adds for false evidence
- ABA Model Rule 3.8(d) disclosure duty before and at sentencing
- ABA Model Rule 3.8(g) and 3.8(h) duties after new evidence of innocence
- How the ABA framed the 2011 request and what the archive report does not prove
- Related legal information
- Sources
Ethical disclosure obligations versus constitutional Brady duties
Disclosure issues often appear in court as one “bucket,” but the reviewed Sources reflect two different baselines. Constitutional due process rules focus on what the prosecution cannot do in obtaining a conviction (for example, suppressing favorable evidence or using known false testimony), while ABA professional responsibility standards describe what prosecutors should do as an ethical matter, including timely disclosure and additional duties when new evidence of innocence emerges.
A compact comparison of constitutional due process and ABA ethics rules
| Topic | Constitutional due process (Supreme Court cases) | ABA Model Rule 3.8 (prosecutor ethics text) |
|---|---|---|
| Core idea | Due process limits convictions based on suppressed favorable evidence or on false evidence known to state representatives | Ethics rules require disclosure and further action tied to evidence that undermines guilt or affects sentencing |
| Pretrial nondisclosure focus | Brady v. Maryland addresses suppression of favorable evidence upon request when material to guilt or punishment | Rule 3.8(d) addresses timely disclosure to the defense of evidence or information that tends to negate guilt or mitigates the offense |
| Sentencing and postconviction focus | Due process concerns also include false evidence and trial-outcome effects under Napue v. Illinois | Rule 3.8(d) adds sentencing disclosure; rules 3.8(g) and 3.8(h) address duties tied to newly credible material evidence of innocence |
What *Brady v. Maryland* establishes for due process
In Brady v. Maryland, the Supreme Court held that the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process when the evidence is material to guilt or to punishment, “irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution,” which means the constitutional rule does not depend on whether prosecutors acted in good or bad faith: see the Supreme Court text via John L. BRADY, Petitioner, v. STATE OF MARYLAND.
What *Napue v. Illinois* adds for false evidence
In Napue v. Illinois, the Supreme Court stated that “a conviction obtained through use of false evidence, known to be such by representatives of the State, must fall under the Fourteenth Amendment,” and it discussed reversal where the false testimony “may have had an effect on the outcome of the trial”: see the Supreme Court text via Henry NAPUE, Petitioner, v. PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
ABA Model Rule 3.8(d) disclosure duty before and at sentencing
Under ABA Model Rule 3.8(d), the prosecutor “shall” make timely disclosure to the defense of “all evidence or information” known to the prosecutor that “tends to negate the guilt of the accused” or “mitigates the offense,” and in connection with sentencing the prosecutor must disclose to the defense and the tribunal “all unprivileged mitigating information known to the prosecutor,” unless the prosecutor is relieved by a protective order of the tribunal: see ABA Model Rule 3.8 disclosure duties.
ABA Model Rule 3.8(g) and 3.8(h) duties after new evidence of innocence
Rule 3.8(g) addresses a prosecutor who knows of “new, credible and material evidence” creating “a reasonable likelihood” that a convicted defendant did not commit an offense, requiring prompt disclosure to an appropriate court or authority and further investigation (or causing an investigation) when the conviction occurred in the prosecutor’s jurisdiction, while Rule 3.8(h) addresses a prosecutor who knows of “clear and convincing evidence” that the defendant was convicted of an offense the defendant did not commit, requiring the prosecutor to seek to remedy the conviction: see ABA Model Rule 3.8 disclosure duties.
How the ABA framed the 2011 request and what the archive report does not prove
The ABANow archive report describes the ABA’s 2011 objective in urging the Supreme Court to reaffirm that prosecutors’ ethical disclosure obligations can be broader than constitutional standards under Brady for post-trial nondisclosure claims, and it also describes the ABA’s use of an amicus filing in Juan Smith v. Burl Cain, Warden: see ABANow report on ABA’s request in Juan Smith v. Burl Cain. Because the reviewed materials here do not include Supreme Court docket or opinion text for Juan Smith v. Burl Cain, Warden, the archive report can support what the ABA asked the Court to reaffirm, but not a conclusion about what the Supreme Court decided.
