In re Jenkins

Summary

The court held that, when a habeas petitioner alleges that the trial prosecution suppressed material evidence and the Attorney General knows of or possesses that evidence, the Attorney General has continuing constitutional and ethical disclosure duties. It also clarified the respondent’s procedural duties at the informal-response and return stages, including restrictions on contesting the existence of known evidence without explanation. Because the Attorney General’s filings were deficient and the record was incomplete, the court reversed and remanded without deciding the merits of Jenkins’s habeas petition.