Nebraska Statutes 29-4704. Disclosures required; deadline; redaction of information; prosecutor; duties
(1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, if a prosecutor intends to use the testimony or statement of a jailhouse informant at a defendant‘s trial, the prosecutor shall disclose to the defense:
Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 29-4704
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Testify: Answer questions in court.
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
- Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(a) The known criminal history of the jailhouse informant;
(b) Any benefit requested by or offered or provided to a jailhouse informant or that may be offered or provided to the jailhouse informant in the future in connection with such testimony;
(c) The specific statements allegedly made by the defendant against whom the jailhouse informant will testify or provide a statement and the time, place, and manner of the defendant’s disclosures;
(d) The case name and jurisdiction of any criminal case known to the prosecutor in which the jailhouse informant testified or a prosecutor intended to have the jailhouse informant testify about statements made by another suspect or criminal defendant that were disclosed to the jailhouse informant and whether the jailhouse informant requested, was offered, or received any benefit in exchange for or subsequent to such testimony; and
(e) Any occasion known to the prosecutor in which the jailhouse informant recanted testimony about statements made by another suspect or defendant that were disclosed to the jailhouse informant and any transcript or copy of such recantation.
(2) The prosecutor shall disclose the information described in subsection (1) of this section to the defense as soon as practicable after discovery, but no later than thirty days before trial. If the prosecutor seeks to introduce the testimony of a jailhouse informant that was not known until after such deadline, or if the information described in subsection (1) of this section could not have been discovered or obtained by the prosecutor with the exercise of due diligence at least thirty days before the trial or other criminal proceeding, the court may permit the prosecutor to disclose the information as soon as is practicable after the thirty-day period.
(3) If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that disclosing information listed in subsection (1) of this section will result in the possibility of bodily harm to a jailhouse informant or that a jailhouse informant will be coerced, the court may permit the prosecutor to redact some or all of such information.
(4) If, at any time subsequent to the deadline in subsection (2) of this section, the prosecutor discovers additional material required to be disclosed under subsection (1) of this section, the prosecutor shall promptly:
(a) Notify the court of the existence of the additional material; and
(b) Disclose such material to the defense, except as provided in subsection (3) of this section.