The District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is considering a proposed amendment to Local Criminal Rule 32.3(2). The amendment was proposed by Peter Vaira in his column in the Legal Intelligencer on May 11, 2010. Judge Savage of the Eastern District on his own motion has adopted the amendment in his Practices and Procedures. The proposed amendment is as follows:
Rule 32.3 . . .
2. At the time the presentence investigation and report are ordered, a sentencing hearing date will be fixed by the sentencing judge. The attorney for the Government will make available to the probation officer all investigative and file material relevant to the case. The attorney for the government will provide to the probation office all investigative and file material relevant to offense and the defendant’s relevant conduct, and any material relevant to the adjustments to the sentencing guidelines. The attorney for the government will provide to the defense counsel all material provided to the probation officer, including any legal memoranda regarding sentencing. Within 21 days of receiving the material from the attorney for the government, the defense counsel will provide to the government attorney all material and legal memoranda defense counsel has submitted to the probation officer.
The court, in its discretion, may grant defense counsel’s request for additional material from the government relevant to sentencing, based upon a showing of particularized need. The sentencing hearing date may be continued if necessary.”
