Criminal defense attorneys often engage in plea negotiations on behalf of their clients without knowledge of material, exculpatory information that the prosecution may possess, placing the defense at an unfair disadvantage. The recent proliferation of electronically-stored information (“ESI”) is further exacerbating this informational imbalance. Without proactively accounting for ESI in criminal discovery, the informational gulf existing between the prosecution and the defense during plea negotiations will continue to foster uninformed legal representation, inconsistent results, and an enduring lack of public confidence in the criminal justice system. Although scholars have promoted open-file criminal discovery as a cure to narrow this informational gap, neither the literature nor recently enacted open-file criminal discovery have sufficiently considered the importance of digitizing open-file criminal discovery to fix the imbalance. This Article argues for the nationwide implementation of digitized open-file criminal discovery schemes as a means of correcting the current pre-plea informational asymmetry, leading to more reliable results and improved defense lawyering. Digitizing open-file criminal discovery will produce a digital ecosystem of accountability benefitting both defendants and prosecutors alike.

中文翻译：

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问责制数字生态系统

刑事辩护律师经常代表他们的客户进行辩诉谈判，而不知道控方可能拥有的重要、无罪的信息，从而使辩护处于不公平的不利地位。最近电子存储信息（“ESI”）的激增进一步加剧了这种信息不平衡。如果不主动考虑刑事发现中的 ESI，在认罪谈判期间存在于控方和辩方之间的信息鸿沟将继续助长不知情的法律代表、不一致的结果以及公众对刑事司法系统的长期缺乏信心。尽管学者们提倡公开刑事发现作为缩小这一信息差距的一种方法，无论是文献还是最近颁布的公开文件犯罪发现都没有充分考虑数字化公开文件犯罪发现以解决不平衡的重要性。本文主张在全国范围内实施数字化公开档案犯罪发现计划，作为纠正当前认罪前信息不对称的一种手段，从而获得更可靠的结果并改善辩护律师。数字化公开文件的犯罪发现将产生一个有利于被告和检察官的数字问责生态系统。导致更可靠的结果和改进的辩护律师。数字化公开文件的犯罪发现将产生一个有利于被告和检察官的数字问责生态系统。导致更可靠的结果和改进的辩护律师。数字化公开文件的犯罪发现将产生一个有利于被告和检察官的数字问责生态系统。