Ian N. Friedman, president of the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, spoke at The University of Akron School of Law Thursday as part of an afternoon forum, The ABA Report on the Death Penalty: Report, Innocence & E-Discovery.

Friedman’s topic was discovery in criminal and civil cases, with a focus on The Ohio Supreme Court’s proposed Criminal Rule 16 the purpose of which is to give all parties involved in a criminal case the information necessary for “a full and fair adjudication of the facts....”

He outlined the essence of the rule which has been debated heavily by prosecutors and defense lawyers throughout the state, as Ohio prosecutors currently have the right to determine how much information to share with the defense.

The rule would reform this tradition so that each side must share information like witness lists, photographs, results of hospital reports and more.

Some limitations include transcripts of grand jury testimony (other than transcripts of a defendant or co-defendant) and other materials subject to confidentiality.

Other speakers included Phyllis Crocker, associate dean and chair of the Ohio Assessment Team, Cleveland-Marshall Law School; Margery Koosed, professor at Akron Law and organizer of the program; Mark Godsey, professor and director of the Ohio Innocence Project, University of Cincinnati College of Law; James Petro, former Ohio attorney general; and Bernadette Genetin, professor at Akron Law.

DNA exoneree Robert McClendon, who was scheduled to speak, was not able to make it. ABA Report on the Death Penalty, which highlights the areas most in need of reform and summarizes Ohio’s death penalty system and collection, preservation and testing of DNA and other evidence; Innocence Protection in Ohio; Discovery in Criminal and Civil Case; and EDiscovery Practice in Civil Cases and Federal Rule Update

About 30 people, including attorneys and Akron Law faculty and students, attended the program, which qualified for Continuing Legal Education and Ohio Supreme Court Rule 20 credits, according to a spokesperson from the Akron Bar Association.

The spokes-person added that Friedman has offered to return to Akron Law to speak next year when Rule 16 goes into effect.