Harrison

I.

INTRODUCTION

Petitioner David Scott Harrison filed a petition for writ of mandate in this court in August 2020 seeking a writ of mandate directing the superior court to grant a motion that he filed pursuant to Penal Code section 1054.9 (section 1054.9) in which he set forth 78 requests for discovery materials in anticipation of filing a habeas corpus petition. Section 1054.9 governs postconviction discovery with respect to habeas corpus proceedings and motions to vacate a judgment where a defendant has been convicted of a serious felony or a violent felony resulting in a sentence of 15 years or more. (§ 1054.9, subd. (a).) The statute requires that, upon a showing of good faith but unsuccessful efforts to obtain discovery materials from trial counsel, a defendant “be provided reasonable access to any of the materials described in subdivision (c)” of section 1054.9. Subdivision (c) defines “ ‘discovery materials’ ” as “materials in the possession of the prosecution and law enforcement authorities to which the same defendant would have been entitled at time of trial.” (§ 1054.9, subds. (a), (c).) Harrison, who was convicted of murdering his former wife in 1990 and is currently…