While much has been hypothesized regarding discovery systems in the field of criminal justice, it is crucial to note that the discovery systems offer a platform in which parties involved in case proceedings share information regarding arguments and evidence to be out forward during trial. The prosecution is perhaps the major legal entity that is vested with the discovery information. Evidently, there exists two forms of discovery systems comprising of closed and open discovery systems. In the closed discovery system, restrictive information is offered the defence whereas in the open discovery system, the prosecution offers a wider array of information to the defence (Neubauer, 2011).
Based on a personal thought the best approach in the discovery system is the open one. In fact, there are various reasons that justify the fact that the open discovery system is the best approach than the closed system. The first reason aligns with the fact that the open discovery offer pertinent information to the defence, which serves a crucial purpose in limiting the occurrence of wrongful convictions. Certainly, the problem of wrongful convictions have been eminent across various contexts. Therefore, the only way in which such unjust convictions can be prevented is adopting the open discovery system. In a nutshell the open discovery avails a wider array of information to the defence (Neubauer, 2011). This allows the defence to prepare adequately for trial.
Concurrently, the primary goal of the criminal justice is to assure fairness and justice is served for all. Arguably, application of the closed discovery system depicts a high degree of unfairness because the defence is offered limited information, which makes it relatively challenging for the defence to prepare adequately for trial. Worth noting that the discovery systems does not offer any information on the witness. Therefore, it does not make any sense to offer restricted information as it is the case in the closed discovery system. From this analysis, efficiency and provision of justice can only be attained if the open discovery system is applied explicitly. In fact, Neubauer, 2011 asserts that ‘the open discovery system protects the defendant’s right to due process; hence, enhances the ability of the justice system to resolve court cases in an efficient way. This reasons justify the fact that the open discovery approach is better than the closed discovery approach.
References
Neubauer, D. W. (2011). America's courts and the criminal justice system. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
