The following excerpt is from Spivey v. Gipson, Case No. 1:12-cv-00206-LJO-SKO-HC (E.D. Cal. 2015):
The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment imposes upon the prosecution a duty to disclose evidence in its possession that is favorable to an accused if it is material either to guilt or punishment. Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87-88 (1963). The prosecution violates its constitutional duty to disclose to the defense material exculpatory evidence where, regardless of whether
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the defense requested the evidence, 1) the evidence was favorable to the accused because it was either exculpatory or impeaching; 2) the evidence was suppressed by the government either willfully or inadvertently; and 3) prejudice results from the failure to disclose. Strickler v. Greene, 527 U.S. 263, 280 (1999).
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