Presently, Local Criminal Rule 32.3.2 of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania provides that when a sentencing date is fixed, the attorney for the government will make available to the probation officer all investigative and file material relevant to the case. There is no requirement in the Rule that this material be provided to the defense counsel. Quite often it is not, with defense counsel often being surprised by the probation officer’s report. There is no reason that such material should not be provided to the defense counsel. Likewise, there is no reason government counsel should not see the material defense counsel provides to the probation officer.
The Local Criminal Rules of the Northern District of Illinois require mutual disclosure by all parties of all material presented to the probation officer. Peter Vaira has proposed an amendment to Rule 32.3.2 which provides mutual disclosure between counsel of all material presented to the probation officer. Peter Vaira has been told such an amendment is under consideration. Judge Savage, on his own initiative, requires such disclosure in his Practices and Procedures. Until an amendment is adopted, set forth below is a sample motion to be filed by defense counsel at sentencing or immediately following sentencing. The motion is also applicable for the Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, which have no requirement of mutual disclosures.
Defense counsel hereby requests that the Court enter the following order: Counsel for the government and defense counsel are directed to provide opposing counsel with copies of all material and pleadings provided to or served on the probation officer in this matter. In the event a witness is made available to the probation officer for interview, that witness should also be made available to opposing counsel for an interview as to the substance of the information provided to the probation officer.
