Q: Does a defendant have a right to review redacted evidence obtained through discovery before entering plea bargain?
A motion to compel discovery was properly filed by the defendant after the withdraw of the defendant’s first attorney and before the defendant’s second attorney accepted the case. It was ignored. Defendant has not been able to review any of discovery before entering into plea bargain. Defendant also wishes to obtain redacted copies of discovery to file in defendant’s personal records.
A:
Simply filing a motion doesn't help and there is a decent chance the judge isn't even aware of it. You've got to serve it on the prosecution and ask the judge for a ruling on it. Unless it is trivial the judge would probably want you to set it for a hearing. If it is trivial then it probably won't do you much good.
Your attorney should allow you to review the discovery, but the attorney is required to redact witness information before allowing you to see it. You are NOT allowed to keep a copy of anything obtained during discovery EXCEPT your own statement. Most of the discovery rules are in 39.14 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure but there are other rules that apply in some cases, for example those involving child victims.
A: Try writing a polite email to your attorney asking to review the redacted discovery in her office. Putting it in writing will make it harder for her to say "no." If you don't get to review it, you could refuse the discovery acknowledgement required by Article 39.14(j) but that is not necessarily a good idea for a half-dozen reasons I don't have time to explain... I just mentioned it because this answer would be incomplete without it, not because I recommend that you do it.
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