California / IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Court Ruling Backs Evidence Disclosure

A Juvenile Court judge can order a youth’s defense lawyer to disclose evidence to the prosecutor before trial, a state appeals court ruled. The 1st District Court of Appeal said a rule requiring defense disclosure--part of Proposition 115, a prosecution-sponsored initiative in June, 1990--does not apply to juvenile cases. But the court said the initiative gave juvenile judges authority to decide whether disclosure should be ordered. State Supreme Court rulings before 1990 had barred judges from requiring defense lawyers to disclose evidence to prosecutors before trial on the grounds that they would be forcing defendants to aid in their own conviction in violation of the right against self-incrimination.