US · rules
D. Mont. L.R. CR 16.1
Production by the Government
(a) Unless the parties otherwise agree and where not prohibited by law, the
government shall disclose to the defense all information “favorable to an accused”
that is “material either to guilt or to punishment” under Brady v. Maryland, 373
U.S. 83, 87 (1963), and that is known to the government. This requirement applies
regardless of whether the information would itself constitute admissible evidence.
The information shall be produced in a reasonably usable form unless that is
impracticable; in such a circumstance, it shall be made available to the defense for
inspection and copying. Beginning at the defendant’s arraignment and continuing
throughout the criminal proceeding, the government shall make good-faith efforts
to disclose such information to the defense as soon as reasonably possible after its
existence is known, so as to enable the defense to make effective use of the
disclosed information in the preparation of its case.
(b) The information to be disclosed under (a) is favorable to the defendant
because it:
(1) is inconsistent with or tends to negate the defendant’s guilt as to any
element, including identification, of the offense(s) with which the
defendant is charged;
(2) casts doubt on the admissibility of evidence that the government
anticipates offering in its case-in-chief;
(3) casts doubt on the credibility or accuracy of any evidence, including
witness testimony, the government anticipates offering in its case-in-chief;
(4) may be relied upon to support an argument for a lesser punishment at
sentencing.
(5) tends to mitigate the charged offense(s) or reduce the potential
penalty;
(6) tends to establish an articulated and legally cognizable defense theory
or recognized affirmative defense to the offense(s) with which the
88 | P a g e
D.Mont L.R. CR 16.1 Production by the Government
defendant is charged; or
(7) may be used for impeachment purposes. Such information includes
but is not limited to:
(i) information regarding whether any promise, reward, or
inducement has been given by the government to any witness it
anticipates calling in its case-in-chief; and
(ii) information that identifies all pending criminal cases against,
and all criminal convictions of, any such witness.
(c) As impeachment information described in (b)(7) and witness-credibility
information described in (b)(3) may be dependent on which witnesses the
government intends to call at trial, this rule does not require the government to
disclose such information until 7 days before trial unless otherwise ordered by the
court.
(d) In the event the government believes that a disclosure under this rule
would compromise witness safety, victim rights, national security, a sensitive law-enforcement technique, or any other substantial government interest, it may motion
the court for a modification of the requirements of this rule, which may include in
camera review and/or withholding or subjecting to a protective order all or part of
the information.
(e) For purposes of this rule, the government includes federal, state, and
local law-enforcement officers and other government officials who have
participated in the investigation and prosecution of the offense(s) with which the
defendant is charged. The government has an obligation to seek from these sources
all information subject to disclosure under this rule.
(f) Unless the presiding judge orders earlier disclosure, the government
must disclose all information identified in (b)(1)-(2), (4)-(6) in its possession in a
timely manner. On the defendant’s request the government must provide all
discovery required by:
(1) Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(a)(1)(A)-(E) and (G) no later than 14 days after
arraignment and
(2) Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(a)(1)(F) as soon as reasonably possible and no
89 | P a g e
D.Mont L.R. CR 16.1 Production by the Government
later than seven days before trial.
(g) If the government fails to comply with this rule, the court, in addition to
ordering production of the information, may:
(1) specify the terms and conditions of such production;
(2) grant a continuance;
(3) impose evidentiary sanctions; or
(4) enter any other order that is just under the circumstances.
(h) The government’s obligation to disclose exculpatory information
extends to information covered under Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(a)(2). Exculpatory
information need not be admissible so long as it is reasonably likely to lead to the
discovery of admissible evidence.
(i) Questions as to whether information in the possession of the prosecution
is exculpatory should be resolved in favor of the defendant. The government may
voluntarily submit information to the court for in camera inspection to determine
whether it constitutes exculpatory information that must be produced. Upon
submitting such information, the government shall file in the record a written
notice of submission describing in general terms that information being submitted
for inspection.
Provenance
- Source
- www.mtd.uscourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-18
- Edition
- fed-district-2026-09-19
- Content hash
22d845b6346582629a106a6c618ba7f464bd8f11f5e0d116710bb201d106d367
The link goes to the issuing authority’s own document — the one we read to produce this record. Where a source publishes whole titles rather than sections, your browser may need a moment to jump to the provision.
Unofficial copy of government-published law, reproduced from official sources with full provenance. Not an official publication; verify against official sources before relying on it in a filing. Records in the 'guidance' corpus, and only that corpus, are sub-regulatory (interpretive guidelines, survey procedures) and are not binding law. Validity bounds follow each jurisdiction's declared temporalBasis.