# AI for Criminal Defense Lawyers: Discovery, Brady and Hearings Published and updated 2026-10-29 · RuleX editorial team · United States · American English RuleX helps criminal defense lawyers turn discovery productions into a statement-by-statement comparison, a production log and a draft Rule 16, Brady and Giglio request. Upload up to 20 documents at a time, including scanned reports, and transcribe hearings and recorded interviews with speaker labels. Counsel edits the demand or motion in the Canvas and downloads Word. ## Discovery arrives in installments, and the case lives in the differences. A criminal file grows by production: offense reports, supplemental narratives, lab results, warrant affidavits, photographs, recordings and witness statements, each arriving on its own date. The defense case often sits in how one account compares with another: the same event described three ways by three people. In RuleX, create the matter, choose Criminal defense as the practice area and upload each production as it arrives, up to 20 documents at a time. Scanned reports are read by OCR. Name the court, the charges, the next settings and what you need, and RuleX keeps every production in one place so a new document can be compared with everything already in the file. Start with an index. Ask for a production log with the date received, the source, a description, the page range and the Bates number if present. The log is the first answer to any later question about what the government has produced and when. ## Rule 16 gives the request its structure. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16(a)(1) lists what the government must disclose on request: the defendant’s relevant oral statements, the defendant’s written or recorded statements, documents and objects that are material to preparing the defense, that the government intends to use in its case-in-chief or that were obtained from or belong to the defendant, reports of examinations and tests, and expert witness disclosures. Rule 16(a)(2) excludes reports, memoranda and other internal government documents made by an attorney for the government or other government agent in connection with investigating or prosecuting the case, and the Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3500, governs prospective witness statements. Turn that structure into a checklist. Ask RuleX to compare the production log with each Rule 16 category and list what has been received, what the file suggests exists and what to request. Rule 16(c) imposes a continuing duty to disclose additional material that is subject to discovery and was requested or ordered, so the checklist stays open for the life of the case. Protective orders matter to the plan. Rule 16(d)(1) allows the court, for good cause, to deny, restrict or defer discovery or inspection. Record any order in the matter, and RuleX keeps its terms with the documents they govern. ## Brady, Giglio and Rule 5(f) become specific requests. In Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), the Supreme Court held that suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment. In Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150 (1972), the Court reversed a conviction where the government failed to disclose a promise made to a key witness. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 5(f) requires the judge, on the first scheduled court date when both prosecutor and defense counsel are present, to issue an order confirming the prosecutor’s Brady obligation. Ask RuleX to read the productions for the categories those cases describe: statements that differ from a witness’s later account, benefits or agreements with witnesses, inconsistencies between reports, and evidence that points away from the client. Each item is listed with its source page, so the letter that follows can identify the document and the gap rather than make a general demand. Draft the request in the Canvas. RuleX asks what is missing from the government’s production, which dates matter and what relief you are prepared to seek, then writes a letter with a numbered list that opposing counsel can answer item by item. Download Word and keep the response in the matter. ## Hearings and recorded interviews become searchable text with speakers. Upload the audio of a hearing, a recorded police interview or a call, and RuleX transcribes it with speaker identification. The transcript is stored in the matter, so a quotation can be compared with the written report that summarizes the same event. The Jencks Act and Rule 26.2 show why verbatim text matters. After a government witness has testified on direct examination, 18 U.S.C. § 3500(a) and Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 26.2(a) govern the production of that witness’s statements, and the definition of a statement includes a substantially verbatim, contemporaneously recorded recital of an oral statement. Ask RuleX for a cross-examination outline that sets each earlier statement beside the testimony it may impeach. The clock belongs in the file too. The Speedy Trial Act provides in 18 U.S.C. § 3161(c)(1) that trial must commence within seventy days from the filing date of the information or indictment or the defendant’s first appearance, whichever is later, and § 3161(h)(1)(D) excludes delay resulting from a pretrial motion from its filing through the conclusion of the hearing. Record each filing and ruling as a dated event, and RuleX produces a running chronology for counsel’s calculation. 1. Create the matter and upload each production as it arrives. 2. Ask for a production log and a Rule 16 category checklist. 3. Have RuleX compare every account of the same event and list the differences with source pages. 4. Draft the discovery and Brady request in the Canvas. 5. Transcribe each hearing and interview, then build the impeachment outline. ## An illustrative defense engagement and a reusable method. Picture a federal drug-conspiracy case with an initial production of reports, a cooperating witness’s proffer summary and two recorded calls. The attorney uploads the production, transcribes the calls and asks for a comparison of what each report says about who was present at the meeting. Use this working prompt: “Compare the uploaded reports and transcripts. For each event, list every account of who was present, what was said and when, with the document and page. Then check the production against Rule 16(a)(1) and list what to request. Ask me which dates and relief matter before drafting the request letter.” Create a RuleX agent for the defense team that fixes the production log columns, the comparison format and the request-letter structure. State practice follows the state’s own rules of criminal procedure, so name the court in the matter and RuleX frames the work around it. ## Frequently asked questions ### How can RuleX help with criminal discovery? RuleX builds a production log, compares every account of the same event across reports and transcripts, checks the file against the Rule 16 categories and drafts the discovery request in the Canvas for attorney review. ### Can RuleX transcribe hearings and recorded interviews? RuleX transcribes uploaded audio with speaker identification and stores the transcript in the matter. Compare it with written reports and build an impeachment outline from the differences. ### Can RuleX draft a Brady and Giglio request? RuleX drafts a numbered request that identifies the documents reviewed, the gaps found and the relief sought. It asks about dates and relief before writing, and counsel edits and downloads Word. ### Does RuleX read scanned offense reports? RuleX reads scanned pages with OCR, and a single upload takes up to 20 documents. Every page remains available for comparison with later productions. ### How do I start a criminal defense matter in RuleX? Start a 7-day free trial, create the matter, choose its practice area and upload the file. Standard starts at $39.90 per month in U.S. dollars. Research, drafting, matter documents and reusable agents share the same workspace. ## Sources - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16 — discovery and inspection (LII)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_16) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 5(f) — reminder of prosecutorial obligation (LII)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_5) - [Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) (LII)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/373/83) - [Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150 (1972) (LII)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/405/150) - [18 U.S.C. § 3500 — demands for production of statements and reports of witnesses (LII)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/3500) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 26.2 — producing a witness’s statement (LII)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_26.2) - [18 U.S.C. § 3161 — Speedy Trial Act time limits and exclusions (LII)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/3161) ## Work on the matter in RuleX [Create a U.S. account](https://rulex.org/united-states?register=1) · [U.S. pricing](https://rulex.org/united-states/pricing) ## Representation This Markdown represents the same public page. 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