How did prosecutors and police departments respond to Laurie?
A. In Laurie, the Court held that the defendant was denied due process of law when the state knowingly withheld exculpatory evidence from the file of an investigating detective who testified at trial. According to the Court, the evidence from the detectives file could have been used by the defense to impeach his character and credibility at trial. Not long after Laurie was decided, the Court ruled that the failure of the police to disclose and turn over exculpatory evidence to the defendant is imputed to the prosecutor. State v. Lucius, 140 N.H. 60, 63 (1995). In 1996, the Attorney Generals Office sent a Law Enforcement Memorandum to all police agencies, county attorneys and prosecutors that established as a sample policy a procedure whereby prosecutors should inquire of the arresting police agency whether Laurie material exists in personnel, internal investigation or disciplinary files of any officer identified as prosecution witness. Under the policy, if a prosecutor has probable cau
