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Interpreting The Phrase "Newly Discovered Evidence": May Previously Unavailable Exculpatory Testimony Serve As The Basis For A Motion For A New Trial Under Rule 33?, Mary Ellen Brennan

Fordham Law Review

Rule 33 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure permits a federal court to grant a new trial to a criminal defendant if the “interest of justice so requires,” specifying as one potential basis the availability of “newly discovered evidence.” The federal circuit courts have disagreed as to whether postconviction testimony proffered by a codefendant who had remained silent at trial may serve as the basis for a Rule 33 motion grounded on newly discovered evidence. A majority of the federal circuits, including, most recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, have held that, while a codefendant’s …