(1)(a) A prosecuting agency is not required to maintain a Brady identification system and may determine, in its discretion, that its obligations under the decision in Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), are better fulfilled through any such procedure the prosecuting agency otherwise chooses to utilize.

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 112.536

  • Brady identification system: means a list or identification, in whatever form, of the name or names of law enforcement officers or correctional officers about whom a prosecuting agency is in possession of impeachment evidence as defined by court decision, statute, or rule. See Florida Statutes 112.531
  • Case law: The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Correctional officer: means any person, other than a warden, who is appointed or employed full time or part time by the state or any political subdivision thereof whose primary responsibility is the supervision, protection, care, custody, or control of inmates within a correctional institution; and includes correctional probation officers, as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 112.531
  • 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.
  • Impeachment: (1) The process of calling something into question, as in "impeaching the testimony of a witness." (2) The constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" (accuse of misconduct) high officers of the federal government for trial in the Senate.
  • Law enforcement officer: means any person, other than a chief of police, who is employed full time or part time by any municipality or the state or any political subdivision thereof and whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime or the enforcement of the penal, traffic, or highway laws of this state; and includes any person who is appointed by the sheriff as a deputy sheriff under…. See Florida Statutes 112.531
  • Prosecuting agency: means the Attorney General or an assistant attorney general, the statewide prosecutor or an assistant statewide prosecutor, a state attorney or an assistant state attorney, a city or county attorney, a special prosecutor, or any other person or entity charged with the prosecution of a criminal case. See Florida Statutes 112.531
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
(b) The employing agency of a law enforcement officer or correctional officer shall forward all sustained and finalized internal affairs complaints relevant to s. 90.608, s. 90.609, or s. 90.610 to the prosecuting agency in the circuit in which the employing agency is located to assist the prosecuting agency in complying with its obligations under the Brady decision. The employing agency of a law enforcement officer or correctional officer must notify the law enforcement officer or correctional officer of any sustained and finalized internal affairs complaints that are sent to a prosecuting agency as required under this section. If the law enforcement officer or correctional officer is no longer employed by the employing agency, the employing agency must mail through United States mail such notification to the officer’s last known address on file with the employing agency.
(2) A prosecuting agency that maintains a Brady identification system must adopt written policies that, at a minimum, require all of the following:

(a) The right of a law enforcement officer or correctional officer to receive written notice by United States mail or e-mail, which must be sent to the officer’s current or last known employing agency before or contemporaneously with the prosecuting agency including the name and information of the officer in the Brady identification system, unless a pending criminal case requires immediate disclosure or providing such notice to the officer would jeopardize a pending investigation.
(b) The right of a law enforcement officer or correctional officer to request reconsideration of the prosecuting agency’s decision to include the name and information of the officer in a Brady identification system and his or her right to submit documents and evidence in support of the request for reconsideration.
(3) If, after a request for reconsideration is made under paragraph (2)(b), the prosecuting agency subsequently determines that the law enforcement officer or correctional officer should not be included in a Brady identification system, the prosecuting agency must do all of the following:

(a) Remove such officer from the Brady identification system.
(b) Send written notice by United States mail or e-mail to the law enforcement officer or correctional officer at the officer’s current or last known employing agency confirming that the officer’s name has been removed from the Brady identification system.
(c) If the name of a law enforcement officer or correctional officer was previously included in a Brady identification system and his or her name was disclosed in a pending criminal case, notify all parties to the pending criminal case of the officer’s removal from the Brady identification system.
(4) If a prosecuting agency fails to comply with this section, a law enforcement officer or correctional officer may petition a court for a writ of mandamus to compel the prosecuting agency to comply with the requirements of this section. The court’s scope of review in such matter is limited to whether the prosecuting agency acted in accordance with the procedural requirements of this section and may not include a judicial review of the evidence or merits that were the basis for the inclusion of the officer’s name in a Brady identification system. This section does not preclude a law enforcement officer or correctional officer from pursuing any other available administrative or judicial remedies.
(5) This section does not:

(a) Require a prosecuting agency to give notice to or provide an opportunity for review and input from a law enforcement officer or correctional officer if the information in a Brady identification system is:

1. A criminal conviction that may be used for impeachment under s. 90.610; or
2. A sustained and finalized internal affairs complaint that may be used for impeachment under s. 90.608, s. 90.609, or s. 90.610;
(b) Limit the duty of a prosecuting agency to produce Brady evidence in all cases as required by the United States Constitution, the State Constitution, and the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure and relevant case law;
(c) Limit or restrict a prosecuting agency’s ability to remove the name and information of a law enforcement officer or correctional officer from a Brady identification system if, at any time, the prosecuting agency determines that the name and information of the officer are no longer proper for identification; or
(d) Create a private cause of action against a prosecuting agency or any employee of a prosecuting agency, other than the writ of mandamus authorized in subsection (4).
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