Ocean Isle Beach, NC asked in Criminal Law for North Carolina

Q: Is my criminal history supposed to be in my motion

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1 Lawyer Answer
Mr. Damon Chetson
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Answered

A: You seem to be referencing your "discovery." Discovery is the material provided to you (through your lawyer) by the prosecutor's office in the state or federal system. The Motion for Discovery is the method by which the lawyer requests that discovery be provided. People often refer to their discovery as their "motion."

Your criminal history should be included in your discovery, particularly in North Carolina state court which has what is called "open file discovery." In federal court, the criminal history is often provided by may not be required in all cases because criminal history is not exculpatory and federal discovery law generally requires the disclosure of evidence that is exculpatory.

Sometimes the criminal history will not be the first thing that is provided. It may come in a subsequent set of documents sent by the prosecutor to your attorney. But you can often get your criminal history by talking with your lawyer about all the locations you have been arrested and having the lawyer do a background search in various states.

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