What discovery do I demand from the State?

Part 1. The reciprocal discovery to demand under Rule 3.220 (Discovery)

Electing into discovery under Rule 3.220 (Discovery) obligates the State to serve a written Discovery Exhibit disclosing the categories below. Each item is quoted from the rule; the demand note is what a thorough defender does with it. The reciprocal obligations run both ways, so the election is calendared at intake.

• The State's witness list, categorized. “a list of the names and addresses of all persons known to the prosecutor to have information that may be relevant to any offense charged or any defense thereto” Rule 3.220 (Discovery)(b)(1)(A)

  The witness list is categorized A, B, and C by the rule. Category A includes the investigating officers and any witness known to negate guilt; confirm the categorization and run down every Category A witness.

• Witness statements and all police / investigative reports. “is specifically intended to include all police and investigative reports of any kind prepared for or in connection with the case” Rule 3.220 (Discovery)(b)(1)(B)

  The statement definition reaches every police and investigative report of any kind. Demand the full set, and note the rule excludes only the notes from which those reports were compiled.

• The defendant's own statements. “any written or recorded statements and the substance of any oral statements made by the defendant, including a copy of any statements contained in police reports” Rule 3.220 (Discovery)(b)(1)(C)

  Demand every written, recorded, and oral statement attributed to the client, including anything summarized inside a report, with the name of each witness to the statement.

• Tangible objects obtained from the defendant. “any tangible papers or objects that were obtained from or belonged to the defendant” Rule 3.220 (Discovery)(b)(1)(F)

  Demand an inventory of everything seized from or belonging to the client, and reconcile it against the arrest and property records.

• Expert reports and scientific-test results. “reports or statements of experts made in connection with the particular case, including results of physical or mental examinations and of scientific tests, experiments, or comparisons” Rule 3.220 (Discovery)(b)(1)(J)

  Demand the underlying results, not just a conclusion: the lab reports, the examination results, and the scientific-test data behind any expert opinion the State will offer.

• Tangible objects the State intends to use. “any tangible papers or objects that the prosecuting attorney intends to use in the hearing or trial and that were not obtained from or that did not belong to the defendant” Rule 3.220 (Discovery)(b)(1)(K)

  Demand the exhibits the State intends to use that did not come from the client, so nothing surfaces for the first time at trial.

• Materials that could be tested for DNA. “any tangible paper, objects, or substances in the possession of law enforcement that could be tested for DNA” Rule 3.220 (Discovery)(b)(1)(L)

  Demand identification of anything in law-enforcement possession that could be DNA-tested, whether or not the State has tested it.

• Informant-witness material. “whether the state has any material or information that has been provided by an informant witness” Rule 3.220 (Discovery)(b)(1)(M)

  Demand the full informant package the rule enumerates: the alleged statement, the informant's criminal-history summary, the time and place, any benefit received or expected, and the prior cooperation history.

• Exculpatory material the State must disclose. “that tends to negate the guilt of the defendant as to any offense charged, regardless of whether the defendant has incurred reciprocal discovery obligations” Rule 3.220 (Discovery)(b)(4)

  The rule imposes an affirmative duty to disclose material that tends to negate guilt, independent of reciprocal obligations. Track it as owed, and read it alongside the constitutional Brady duty below.

Categories quoted from Rule 3.220 (Discovery) (Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, The Florida Bar). The rule controls; confirm the current text before relying on any phrasing.

Part 2. Brady and Giglio material to demand separately

The constitutional duty to disclose is separate from the reciprocal-discovery categories, so a thorough defender demands it in writing on its own. These are bedrock doctrine, stated generally here rather than tied to any single case; the specific controlling authority has to be researched for the facts.

• Brady material (exculpatory). The prosecution has a general constitutional duty to disclose material evidence favorable to the accused, including evidence that tends to negate guilt or reduce the degree of the offense or the punishment.

  Demand exculpatory material specifically and in writing, separate from the reciprocal-discovery categories, so the affirmative duty is on the record.

• Giglio material (impeachment of State witnesses). The general constitutional duty to disclose favorable evidence extends to material that could be used to impeach a State witness, including a testifying law-enforcement officer, such as prior misconduct bearing on credibility and any benefit or agreement.

  Demand impeachment material on each testifying officer and witness. The officer's certification-discipline and complaint record is where this audit starts; run the arresting and testifying officers before the credibility contest at trial.

The Brady and Giglio duties are stated generally; the controlling case law is a matter for independent research on the facts. No case is cited here.

Part 3. Charge-specific evidence to demand

Some evidence is specific to the charge. For a breath-alcohol DUI, the Florida Administrative Code Chapter 11D-8 records below are the ones to demand for the specific instrument; for any forensic charge, demand the underlying materials through the Rule 3.220 (Discovery) expert-report category, not just the final report.

• Breath-instrument department inspection and registration (DUI). FAC 11D-8.004 (Department Inspection and Registration of Breath Test Instruments)

  For a breath case, demand the department inspection and registration records for the specific instrument used, current for the date of the test.

• Breath-instrument monthly agency inspection (DUI). FAC 11D-8.006 (Agency Inspection of Breath Test Instruments)

  Demand the monthly agency-inspection records covering the period of the test, which the agency is required to keep for the instrument.

• Breath-test operator permit (DUI). FAC 11D-8.008 (Breath Test Operator and Agency Inspector)

  Demand proof the operator held a current permit when the test was administered.

• Lab and forensic materials. Via Rule 3.220 (Discovery)(b)(1)(J) expert-report category

  For any charge resting on forensic work, demand the underlying materials through the Rule 3.220(b)(1)(J) expert-report category: the bench notes, the raw data, the calibration and maintenance records, and the chain-of-custody record, not only the final report.

Breath-instrument requirements quoted from Florida Administrative Code Chapter 11D-8 (FDLE, flrules.org). Confirm the current rule text and the specific record.

Part 4. Preservation demands to send at intake

Some evidence is on a retention clock and can be overwritten before it is ever produced. A thorough defender sends a written preservation demand for the categories below at intake, as a general step separate from the reciprocal production demand above.

• Body-worn camera video.

  Send a written preservation demand for all body-worn camera footage from every officer on scene, before any retention window closes.

• Dash and in-car video.

  Demand preservation of dash-camera and in-car video, which is often on a separate retention schedule from body-worn footage.

• Dispatch and 911 audio.

  Demand preservation of the dispatch logs, radio traffic, and 911 audio, which fix the timeline and the articulated basis for the response.

• Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) records.

  Demand preservation of the CAD entries and timestamps that document when and why units were dispatched and what was reported.

The preservation demand is stated as a general category. The mechanism to compel production once the material exists runs through Rule 3.220 (Discovery)and, where contested, through a motion under Rule 3.190 (Pretrial Motions).

Turn the checklist into the served demand

The demand runs on a clock: electing into discovery triggers the reciprocal obligations and the rule's 15-day production timeline, so a thorough defender files the Notice of Discovery and calendars the demand at intake rather than waiting.

This checklist is what to demand. When you need the formatted, filing-ready demand letters with a reply-brief framework anticipating the standard objections, the Discovery-Demand Pack is the drafted set. For the DUI-specific defense audit that sits alongside this demand, see the Florida DUI defense-audit checklist.

Reference

For the formatted demand letters, see the Discovery-Demand Pack. For the testifying-officer Brady/Giglio record, use Officer Lookup and the Brady/Giglio source appendix. For the DUI defense audit, see the DUI defense-audit checklist. For the full set of Florida references, start at the Florida criminal-defense references hub.