NJ: Under NJ’s broad discovery rules, drug dog records may be discoverable

“This appeal presents a question of first impression regarding when the State may be compelled to provide field and health reports of narcotics detection canines in accordance with the Supreme Court’s holding in Florida v. Harris, 568 U.S. 237 (2013). We granted defendant Justin Morgan leave to appeal from the trial court’s September 1, 2023 order denying his motion to compel discovery of records relating to narcotics detection canine ‘Jocko.’ [¶] We conclude that such records are not per se irrelevant to reliability and probable cause determinations and therefore, the court should have first heard the State’s motion challenging the expert before denying defendant’s motion for discovery. We reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.” State v. Morgan, 2024 N.J. Super. LEXIS 78 (July 23, 2024):

Harris informs us that field records are not required for the State to meet its burden of establishing probable cause for a warrantless search. However, Harris also tells us that field records are not completely barred from consideration. Where a defendant challenges a dog’s training and certification, field reports may be subject to discovery under Rule 3:13-3(b). Given the holding in Harris, we are not persuaded by defendant’s argument that the field reports are discoverable as of right under Rule 3:13-3(b). The rule’s broad reach cannot establish a right to the reports until defendant establishes their relevance. We turn to that question on the record before us.

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