Speaker 1: This video will explain what a pretrial motion for discovery is and how it can help you defend your criminal charges. That's coming up right after this. If this is your first visit to Gustitis Law, I'm Steve Gustitis and this is my channel. If you like the content that you find here at Gustitis Law, consider subscribing to the channel and become a part of the Gustitis Law community. You can do that, it's easy. Just click on that capital black and white G down in the lower right hand corner of the video screen. If you like the video, consider giving it a thumbs up and don't forget to share the video on your other social media platforms. This video is number three in our series on criminal pretrial motions and will help you to understand how a motion for discovery can be used to help you prepare to defend your criminal charges. A pretrial motion for discovery is basically a request made to the police and prosecutors to release information about your case to you and your criminal defense lawyer. This information can take on many different forms. It could be police reports prepared by the arresting officer in your case or maybe backup officers that were also involved. The information could also be lab test results regarding forensic testing for blood alcohol content, for instance, or DNA testing, drug testing, or any other type of forensic matter that might have been involved in the prosecution of your case. Information could also take the form of audio recordings or even dash cam videos or body cam footage from officers involved in the case. If the police or prosecutors subpoenaed records that they are using against you, those records and that data would also be available to you through a motion for discovery. Witness statements, either handwritten or audio recorded, could be a part of the discovery and information related to the prosecution of the case. And those would be extremely valuable to you and your criminal defense lawyer to help you prepare to defend your case. In some states, a court order is necessary before the prosecutor is required to release discovery information to you. However, more and more states now have laws that govern the discovery process and make it easier and more reliable for you to get information critically important to the defense and preparation of your case. Motions to suppress, motions to dismiss may have a lot more sex appeal than a motion for discovery, but a motion for discovery can have just as large of an impact upon the course of your trial and the course of your defense. For without discovery, the accused person is defending themselves with one hand tied behind their back and maybe even two. Without discovery, the person has no idea what the witnesses have said against them and has no idea what the evidence that's being used by the police and prosecutors to prosecute them. No reasonable defense can be prepared or be executed without adequate discovery in a criminal case. But with your criminal discovery in hand, your defense lawyer will be better able to anticipate the strategy that might be used by the prosecutor and how to defend against that strategy. Also, your lawyer can examine the evidence and witness statements to see if there are any legal issues that may be used to attack the evidence that was seized in your case and being used against you. And finally, with discovery in hand, your lawyer can be better prepared to cross-examine the witnesses against you and to discredit them and impeach them at your trial. Can you think of other ways that a motion for discovery might be used to help you defend your criminal charges? If you can, why don't you add those down in the comment section below and we can begin a discussion about your thoughts or your questions. If you enjoyed today's video, please consider giving it a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe to Gustatus Law. The next video in this series will be on the very important motion to suppress statements. So, stay tuned to Gustatus Law for that next video. And thank you again for watching.