Tepe Murders Update: Defense Initial Filings

Michael McKee’s lawyers have filed the customary initial rounds of pleadings requesting discovery from the State of Ohio as well as a request for a Bill of Particulars. In Franklin County, the prosecutors office will normally publish discovery to defense counsel in waves via electronic means called MATRIX.

There will be a small team of prosecutors assigned to discovery on this case that will go through all the evidence, redacting certain portions subject to the Rules of Criminal Procedure and other privacy laws, numbering all the pages sequentially called “BATES NUMBERING”, uploading them into Matrix, then sending links to the defense attorney’s Matrix account.

The request for Bill of Particulars is a much more interesting document for those persons interested in this case.  A request for a bill of particulars is made to obtain a detailed statement from the prosecution specifying the nature of the offense charged and the conduct of the defendant alleged to constitute the offense.

Unlike discovery, a bill of particulars is a tool to elucidate the conduct alleged to constitute the offense.  The state is not required to include every piece of evidence it intends to present at trial but must provide specific dates, times, or other details if such information is material to the defendant’s ability to prepare a defense and is in the state’s possession.