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Balancing Government Efficienty And The Protection Of Individual Liberties: An Analysis Of The Conflit Between Executive Branch "Housekeeping" Regulations And Criminal Defendants' Rights To A Constitutionally Fair Trial, James F. Ponsoldt

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This Article addresses the issue of whether an accused person should be entitled to obtain and use at trial relevant government information or the testimony of government employees to prove his innocence, regardless of whether he has revealed in advance to his adversary his intended use of that information or the specific content of that testimony. Part I describes the federal "housekeeping" statute and the Justice Department's housekeeping regulations, which require that subpoenaed government employees not disclose evidence unless the person seeking that evidence has first summarized the requested evidence in advance, explained its intended use, and obtained permission from …