Va. Sup. Ct. R. 3A:11

(a) General Provisions. — (1) This Rule applies to any prosecution for a felony in a circuit

court and to any misdemeanor brought on direct indictment.

(2) The constitutional and statutory duties of the Commonwealth’s attorney to provide

exculpatory and/or impeachment evidence to an accused supersede any limitation or restriction

on discovery provided pursuant to this Rule.

(3) A party may satisfy the requirement to permit the opposing party to inspect and copy or

photograph a document, recorded statement or recorded confession by providing an actual

duplicate, facsimile or copy of the document, recorded statement or recorded confession to the

opposing party in compliance with the applicable time limits and redaction standards set forth in

this Rule.

(4) Any material or evidence disclosed or discovered pursuant to this Rule and filed with

the clerk of court must be placed under seal until it is either admitted as an exhibit at a trial or

hearing or the court enters an order unsealing the specified material or evidence.

(b) Discovery by the Accused. — Upon written motion of an accused a court must order the

Commonwealth’s attorney to: (1) Permit the accused to inspect and review any relevant reports

prepared by law enforcement officers and made in connection with the particular case, including

any written witness statements or written summaries of oral statements contained within such

reports, that are known to the Commonwealth’s attorney to be in the possession, custody or

control of the Commonwealth. Nothing in this Rule requires that the Commonwealth provide the

accused with copies of the relevant law enforcement reports, although it may do so in its

discretion. The court’s order providing for inspection and review of these reports is subject to the

provisions of subparts (c)(1) and (c)(2) of this Rule regarding redaction and restrictions on

dissemination of designated material.

(2) Permit the accused to inspect, review and copy or photograph any relevant:

(A) written or recorded statements or confessions, or the substance of any oral statements

or confessions, made by the accused to any law enforcement officer, that are known to the

Commonwealth’s attorney to be within the possession, custody or control of the Commonwealth;

(B) written or recorded statements or confessions, or the substance of any oral statements

or confessions, made by the accused to any person other than a law enforcement officer, that the

Commonwealth intends to introduce into evidence against the accused at trial;

(C) written or recorded statements, or the substance of any oral statements, made by a

co-defendant or co-conspirator that the Commonwealth intends to introduce into evidence

against the accused at trial; and

(D) written reports of autopsy examinations, ballistic tests, fingerprint analyses,

handwriting analyses, blood, urine and breath tests, other scientific reports, and written reports of

a physical or mental examination of the accused or the alleged victim made in connection with

the particular case, that are known by the Commonwealth’s attorney to be within the possession,

custody, or control of the Commonwealth.

(3) Permit the accused to inspect, review and copy or photograph designated books, papers,

documents, tangible objects, recordings, buildings or places, or copies or portions thereof, that

are known by the Commonwealth’s attorney to be within the possession, custody, or control of

the Commonwealth, upon a showing that the items sought may be material to preparation of the

accused’s defense and that the request is reasonable.

(4)(A) Notify the accused in writing of the Commonwealth’s intent to introduce expert

opinion testimony at trial or sentencing and to provide the accused with: (i) any written report of

the expert witness setting forth the witness’s opinions and the bases and reasons for those

opinions, or, if there is no such report, a written summary of the expected expert testimony

setting forth the witness’s opinions and the bases and reasons for those opinions, and (ii) the

witness’s qualifications and contact information.

(B) Nothing in subparts (b)(4)(A)(i) and (ii) of this Rule renders inadmissible an expert

witness’s testimony at the trial or sentencing further explaining the opinions, bases and reasons

disclosed pursuant to this Rule, or the expert witness’s qualifications, just because the further

explanatory language was not included in the notice and disclosure provided under this Rule.

Providing a copy of a certificate of analysis from the Virginia Department of Forensic

Science or any other agency listed in Virginia Code § 19.2-187, signed by hand or by electronic

means by the person performing the analysis or examination, satisfies the requirements of

subparts (b)(4)(A)(i) and (ii) of this Rule.

(5) Provide to the accused a list of the names and, if known, the addresses of all persons who

are expected to testify on behalf of the Commonwealth at trial or sentencing. This provision is

subject to subpart (c)(1) of this Rule and to any protective orders entered by the court pursuant to

subpart (g).

(6) This Rule does not authorize the discovery or inspection of the work product of the

Commonwealth’s attorney, including internal reports, witness statements, memoranda,

correspondence, legal research or other internal documents prepared by the office of the

Commonwealth’s attorney or its agents in anticipation of trial.

(7) This Rule does not authorize the discovery of the names and/or personal identifying

information of confidential informants whom the Commonwealth does not intend to call at trial

and with regard to whose identity the Commonwealth asserts it holds a privilege.

(c) Redaction and Restricted Dissemination Material. — (1) With regard to any material or

evidence provided pursuant to this Rule,

(A) the Commonwealth may redact the residential address, telephone number, email

address and place of employment of any witness or victim, or any member of a witness’s or

victim’s family, who satisfies the conditions outlined in §19.2-11.2 of the Code of Virginia. The

Commonwealth may redact the date of birth and Social Security Number of any person whose

information is contained in material or evidence provided pursuant to this Rule; and

(B) If the Commonwealth redacts personal identifying information pursuant to this

subpart of the Rule, the accused may file a motion seeking disclosure of the redacted

information. Should the court find good cause for disclosure, it may order the Commonwealth to

provide the redacted information. In its discretion, the court ordering the provision of redacted

personal identifying information may order that the information be identified as “Restricted

Dissemination Material” pursuant to subpart (c)(2) of this Rule.

(2) The Commonwealth may designate evidence or material disclosed pursuant to this Rule

as “Restricted Dissemination Material” by prominently stamping or otherwise marking such

items as “Restricted Dissemination Material.”

(A) The Commonwealth may designate any evidence or material subject to disclosure

pursuant to this Rule as “Restricted Dissemination Material,” without supporting certification, if

the accused’s attorney agrees to the designation.

(B) In the absence of an agreement by the attorney for the accused, the attorney for the

Commonwealth may designate any evidence or material as “Restricted Dissemination Material”

by stamping or otherwise marking it as such and providing a certification in writing, upon

information and belief, that: (i) the designated material relates to the statement of a child victim

or witness; or (ii) disclosure of the designated material may result in danger to the safety or

security of a witness or victim, danger of a witness being intimidated or tampered with, or a risk

of compromising an ongoing criminal investigation or confidential law enforcement technique.

(C) Except as otherwise provided by order of the court or these Rules, “Restricted

Dissemination Material” may only be disclosed to the accused’s attorney, the agents or

employees of the accused’s attorney, or to an expert witness. The accused’s attorney may orally

communicate the content of “Restricted Dissemination Material” to the accused or allow the

accused to view the content of such material but must not provide the accused with copies of

material so designated. “Restricted Dissemination Material” may not otherwise be reproduced,

copied or disseminated in any way.

(D) If the Commonwealth designates evidence or material as “Restricted Dissemination

Material” pursuant to subpart (c)(2)(B) of this Rule, the accused may at any time file a motion

seeking to remove that designation from such evidence or material. Should the court find good

cause to remove the designation, it may order that the evidence or material no longer be

designated as “Restricted Dissemination Material.”

(E) Within 21 days of the entry of a final order by the trial court, or upon the termination

of the representation of the accused, the accused’s attorney must return to the court all originals

and copies of any “Restricted Dissemination Material” disclosed pursuant to this Rule. The court

must maintain such returned “Restricted Dissemination Material” under seal. Any material

sealed pursuant to this subpart must remain available for inspection by counsel of record. For

good cause shown, the court may enter an order allowing additional access to the sealed material

as the court in its discretion deems appropriate.

(F) In any case in which an accused is not represented by an attorney, the

Commonwealth may file a motion seeking to limit the scope of discovery pursuant to this Rule.

For good cause shown, the court may order any limitation or restriction on the provision of

discovery to an accused who is unrepresented by an attorney as the court in its discretion deems

appropriate.

(d) Discovery by the Commonwealth. — If the court grants disclosure to the accused under

subpart (b) of this Rule, it must also order the accused to: (1) Permit the Commonwealth to

inspect and copy or photograph any written reports of autopsy examinations, ballistic tests,

fingerprint analyses, handwriting analyses, blood, urine and breath analyses, and other scientific

testing within the accused’s possession, custody or control that the defense intends to proffer or

introduce into evidence at trial or sentencing.

(2) Disclose whether the accused intends to introduce evidence to establish an alibi and, if

so, disclose the place at which the accused claims to have been at the time the alleged offense

was committed.

(3) Permit the Commonwealth to inspect, copy or photograph any written reports of

physical or mental examination of the accused made in connection with the particular case if the

accused intends to rely upon the defense of insanity pursuant to Chapter 11 of Title 19.2;

provided, however, that no statement made by the accused in the course of such an examination

disclosed pursuant to this Rule may be used by the Commonwealth in its case-in-chief, whether

the examination was conducted with or without the consent of the accused.

(4)(A) Notify the Commonwealth in writing of the accused’s intent to introduce expert

opinion testimony at trial or sentencing and to provide the Commonwealth with: (i) any written

report of the expert witness setting forth the witness’s opinions and the bases and reasons for

those opinions, or, if there is no such report, a written summary of the expected expert testimony

setting forth the witness’s opinions and the bases and reasons for those opinions, and (ii) the

witness’s qualifications and contact information.

(B) Nothing in subparts (d)(4)(A)(i) and (ii) of this Rule renders inadmissible an expert

witness’s testimony at the trial or sentencing further explaining the opinions, bases and reasons

disclosed pursuant to this Rule, or the expert witness’s qualifications, just because the further

explanatory language was not included in the notice and disclosure provided under this Rule.

Providing a copy of a certificate of analysis from the Virginia Department of Forensic

Science or any other agency listed in Virginia Code § 19.2-187, signed by hand or by electronic

means by the person performing the analysis or examination, satisfies the requirements of

subparts (d)(4)(A)(i) and (ii) of this Rule.

(5) Provide to the Commonwealth a list of the names and, if known, the addresses of all

persons who are expected to testify on behalf of the accused at trial or sentencing. The accused’s

attorney may redact the personal identifying information of any witness if so authorized by a

protective order entered by the court pursuant to subpart (g) of this Rule.

(e) Time of Motion. — A motion by the accused under this Rule must be made at least 10

calendar days before the day fixed for trial. The motion must identify all relief sought pursuant to

this Rule. A subsequent motion may be made only upon a showing of cause why such motion

would be in the interest of justice.

(f) Time, Place and Manner of Discovery and Inspection. — The order granting relief under

this Rule must specify in writing the time, place and manner of making the discovery and

inspection ordered. The court in its discretion may prescribe such terms and conditions as are

reasonable and just.

(g) Protective Order. — (1) Upon the motion of either party and for good cause, the court

may enter a protective order with regard to the discovery or inspection required by this Rule. The

court in its discretion may order any condition that it deems necessary to the orderly adjudication

of the case or to the fair administration of justice. These conditions may include, but are not

limited to:

(A) a requirement that the parties not disclose the contents of any material or evidence

disclosed or discovered pursuant to this Rule in any public forum, including any website;

(B) a requirement that the parties not disclose the contents of any material or evidence

disclosed or discovered pursuant to this Rule to any third-party who is not an agent or employee

of the parties or an expert witness;

(C) authorization to either party to withhold the residential address, telephone number,

email address or place of employment of any witness not covered by the terms of subpart (c)(1)

of this Rule; or

(D) authorization for either party in appropriate circumstances to withhold from

disclosure or place additional restrictions on dissemination of information otherwise discoverable

but not exculpatory.

(2) Should either party believe in good faith that the terms of a protective order entered by

the court have been violated, such party may move the court to enforce the order and to impose

any necessary and appropriate sanction authorized by Virginia law.

(h) Continuing Duty to Disclose; Failure to Comply. — If, after disposition of a motion

under this Rule, counsel or a party discovers before or during trial additional material previously

requested or falling within the scope of an order previously entered, that is subject to discovery

or inspection under this Rule but has not previously been disclosed, the party must promptly

notify the other party or their counsel or the court of the existence of the additional material. If at

any time during the pendency of the case it is brought to the attention of the court that a party has

failed to comply with this Rule or with an order issued pursuant to this Rule, the court must order

such party to permit the discovery or inspection of materials not previously disclosed, and may

grant such other relief authorized by Virginia law as it may in its discretion deem appropriate.