Arizona

Criminal Procedure

Criminal Procedure

Rule 15.4 – Disclosure Standards

(a)Statements.

(1)Definition of a “Statement.” In Rule 15, the term “statement” includes:

(A) a writing prepared, signed or otherwise adopted or approved by a person;
(B) a recording of a person’s oral communications or a transcript of the communication; or
(C) a written record or summary of a person’s oral communications.
(2)Definition of a “Writing.” A “writing” consists of words or their equivalent, recorded in physical, electronic, or other form.
(3)Exclusion of Superseded Notes. Handwritten notes are not a statement if they were substantially incorporated into a document or report no later than 30 calendar days of their creation, or were preserved electronically, mechanically, or by verbatim dictation.
(b)Materials Not Subject to Disclosure.

(1)Work Product. A party is not required to disclose legal research or records, correspondence, reports, or memoranda to the extent they contain the opinions, theories, or conclusions of the prosecutor or defense counsel, members of their respective legal or investigative staff, or law enforcement officers.
(2)Informants. A party is not required to disclose the existence or identity of an informant who will not be called to testify if:

(A) disclosure would result in substantial risk to the informant or to the informant’s operational effectiveness; and
(B) a failure to disclose will not infringe on the defendant’s constitutional rights.
(c)Failure to Call a Witness or Raise a Defense. At trial, a party may not comment on the fact that a witness’s name or a defense is on a list furnished under Rule 15, yet not called or raised, unless the court allows the comment after finding that inclusion of the witness’s name or the defense constituted an abuse of the applicable disclosure rule.
(d)Use of Materials. Any materials furnished to a party or counsel under Rule 15 must not be disclosed to the public, and may be disclosed only to the extent necessary for the proper conduct of the case.
(e)Requests for Disclosure. All requests for disclosure must be made to the opposing party.
(f)Filing of Papers; Exception for Misdemeanors and Petty Offenses Filed in Limited Jurisdiction Courts. For misdemeanor and petty offenses triable in limited jurisdiction courts, parties must not file materials disclosed under Rules 15.1 and 15.2, or notices of their service, unless the court orders otherwise or they are filed as attachments or exhibits to other documents relevant to the determination of an issue before the court.

Ariz. R. Crim. P. 15.4

Added August 31, 2017, effective January 1, 2018.

HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES

Former Rule 15.4, relating to general standards, was abrogated effective January 1, 2018.

COMMENT

Rule 15.4(a). It is intended that an attorney’s actual trial notes, such as his outline of questions to ask a witness, will be encompassed within the work product exception of Rule 15.4(b)(1), even though they fall within the definition of statement.