BILL NUMBER: AB 885
VETOED DATE: 09/28/2014
To the Members of the California State Assembly:
I am returning Assembly Bill 885 without my signature.
AB 885 would allow a court to instruct the jury to consider
intentional or knowing prosecutorial discovery violations in
determining whether reasonable doubt exists in a criminal case.
Prosecutorial misconduct should never be tolerated.
This bill, however, would be a sharp departure from current practice
that looks to the judiciary to decide how juries should be
instructed. Under current law, judges have an array of remedies at
their disposal if a discovery violation comes to light during trial.
Sincerely,
Edmund G. Brown Jr.