Rule 3.8 Performing the Duty of Public Prosecutor or Other Government Lawyer
Rule Text
A public prosecutor or other government lawyer shall:
(a) not institute or cause to be instituted criminal charges when the prosecutor or government lawyer knows or it is obvious that the charges are not supported by probable cause; and
(b) make timely disclosure to the defense of all evidence or information known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt of the accused or mitigates the offense, and, in connection with sentencing, disclose to the defense all unprivileged mitigating information known to the prosecutor, except when the prosecutor is relieved of this responsibility by a protective order of the tribunal.
(c) When a prosecutor knows of new, credible, and material evidence creating a reasonable likelihood that a convicted defendant did not commit an offense of which the defendant was convicted, the prosecutor shall
(1) promptly disclose that evidence to an appropriate court or authority; and
(2) if the conviction was obtained in the State of Hawai‘i, promptly disclose that evidence to the defendant and the office of the public defender, unless a court orders otherwise.
(d) A prosecutor’s independent judgment, made in good faith, that the new evidence is not of such nature as to trigger the obligations of section (c), though subsequently determined to have been erroneous, does not constitute a violation of this Rule.
Amendment history: Amended October 21, 2013, effective January 1, 2014.