Q: If the state intentionally does not give 100% of the evidence used for search warrant, what can be done?
A friend of mine has already pled guilty but is awaiting sentencing. If the prosecution lies about the basis of a search warrant what can be done? Lawyer continues to lie to client, sweeps it under rug and when confronted, he went off! I no longer trust the lawyer and now I need to know if the friend has any recourse. I don’t need an attorney telling me what I should and should not be posting, this site is to ask a lawyer a question.
A: I can't speak to your jurisdiction specifically. But in mine, a Defendant has to ask the court to withdraw from a plea and show the court it's necessary to correct a manifest injustice. It's a very tough standard here. If evidence has been withheld from the defense by the prosecution, that certainly could help. It's unclear which attorney you're referring to. But all of this should be brought in a motion before the court to withdraw from the plea before sentencing and move forward towards trial. At that time, discovery needs to be completed and if Defense Attorney isn't being cooperative, they need to be fired and a new one needs to be hired. This is all something your friend needs to handle, as you're not a party to this case and this is largely speculation on my part.
A: The client can attempt to withdraw his plea. If he is allowed to withdraw the plea, his attorney can then attempt to exclude any evidence found in accordance with the search warrant (and the "fruit of the poisonous tree") on the ground that it was based upon lies in the Affidavit. You should be aware that is very difficult to suppress evidence obtained by a search warrant since such a warrant is signed by a judge. In addition, if the plea is withdrawn, the case will proceed to trial on the merits on all charges.
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