Read And Revel

This book was a thorough historical and current view of the Brady rule and how it should but often doesn’t get upheld in criminal court cases. If you’re not familiar, according to the Legal Information Institute, “The Brady rule, named after Brady v. Maryland, requires prosecutors to disclose material, exculpatory information in the government’s possession to the defense.” In layman’s terms, the prosecutors are not allowed to hide evidence that would help the defendant’s case or lessen their punishment, they’re obligated to share it. A question I, personally, had never considered before- are they actually following this rule? This book examines exactly that question, walking us through several cases to show how Brady can be broken, and the consequences of those actions, particularly on those who do not receive justice because of it. 

I genuinely appreciated the way this book walks through historical cases, but also brings it into the modern light with the changes, holdbacks, and consequences even into the 2020s. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and instrumental change happening every day. 

Dybdahl was an excellent candidate to undertake this type of in-depth review of Brady. Having a background in journalism and 13 years of experience as a public defender gives him a unique perspective as to the real-life consequences of Brady and how it functions today. 

Throughout the text we see not only case files, lives of the accused, but many studies done by others who give concrete impactful data to each of the topics explored. 

As someone who studies politics and government, I was familiar with the Brady rule but this was the first piece I’ve come across that not only explains it so thoroughly, but truly deals with the ramifications of the past, and brings in the hopeful updates of today. Multiple times throughout my reading I would see the statistics of false confessions, how the justice system impacts minors and young people, and how often people of color are more severely wronged by Brady infractions. It was so insightful and heartbreaking to see how not only the wrongly accused, by the victims could be impacted for life by these situations. 

As people with access to so much information, we must stay vigilant to know our rights and to demand instrumental change from our lawmakers. This is a bipartisan issue that affects us all.