Jones

This case involves interpretation of the criminal discovery chapter (Pen. Code, § 1054 et seq., hereafter occasionally referred to as the Criminal Discovery Statute) implemented in 1990 as part of Proposition 115. The question of first impression we must decide in this writ proceeding is whether the reciprocal discovery provisions of the Criminal Discovery Statute apply to a probation revocation hearing such that a probationer is obligated to provide discovery to the prosecution in such a proceeding. We hold that the reciprocal discovery provisions set forth in the criminal discovery chapter of Proposition 115 (§ 1054 et seq.) do not apply to a probation revocation hearing, and thus a probationer has no obligation to provide discovery to the prosecution in such a proceeding, because (1) a probation revocation proceeding is not a criminal trial within the meaning of section 1054.3 governing the scope of the discovery obligations of the defense; and (2) neither this chapter, the Constitution of the United States, nor other statutory authority provides for such discovery. Accordingly, we grant defendant Jed Jones’s petition for writ of mandate and direct the trial court to…