Bill > SB249

This bill aims to revise criminal laws regarding testimony from accomplices and informants. The key provisions include: 1. Requiring law enforcement to electronically record all statements made by informants relating to a felony crime, and preserve these recordings until the conclusion of all appeals and post-conviction proceedings. 2. Mandating the prosecution to timely disclose to the accused or their counsel detailed information about the informant's criminal history, personal characteristics, any deals or benefits offered, and other relevant details about the informant's reliability, credibility, and the circumstances surrounding their testimony. 3. Allowing the court to hold a pretrial hearing, at the request of the defendant, to assess the corroboration, reliability, and credibility of the informant's proposed testimony. If the prosecution fails to prove these factors by clear and convincing evidence, the court must deem the testimony inadmissible. 4. Requiring the court to provide the jury with a cautionary instruction on evaluating the informant's testimony, considering any potential benefits or incentives the informant may have received. 5. Providing a mechanism for the accused to request a new trial if new evidence shows the informant's trial testimony included a materially false statement that potentially affected the outcome. The overall purpose of this bill is to prevent unreliable accomplice and informant testimony from being admitted as evidence in criminal trials, by increasing the transparency and scrutiny of such testimony.

Justice

http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=249&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20171