A new rule mandating open discovery in criminal cases goes into effect July 1, and proponents say it will transform the way criminal law is practiced in Ohio.

Wayne County Prosecutor Martin Frantz, who helped write the rule as president-elect of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, said criminal defense lawyers will have access to police reports and witness statements, something they do not currently have access to in felony cases.

“This is the biggest change in criminal procedure in my lifetime,” Frantz said.

Ian Friedman, a Cleveland attorney and past president of Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, worked with Frantz on the committee, and he said the rule will revolutionize criminal law.

“If you got into a car accident in Ohio, you could go and get the police report with witness statements and all of the information you need,” Friedman said. “If you were charged with a crime, you are not entitled into police reports and witness statements.”

Not knowing what information the prosecution has or what witnesses will say creates a “trial by ambush,” Friedman said, which has, at times, led to gamesmanship in the courtroom. “When you don’t have all of the evidence in the case, there’s no way to ensure you will have a fair trial.”

Conversely, prosecutors were not privy to witness statements from the defense, Friedman said. Now, “they will get all of the evidence and be able to fully gauge the case. They will have surprise eliminated, too.”

While Friedman sees a tremendous shift in the legal landscape, Orrville attorney John Johnson Jr. does not think there will be much of an impact in Wayne County because “we’ve been getting open discovery for years.”

“The Prosecutor’s Office has always been willing to share information I requested, and now we just have a rule that says they have to,” said Johnson, of Johnson, Helmuth and Miller.

Open discovery has been used in the Wayne County Municipal Court for years, Frantz said, and it will soon apply to criminal cases in the Court of Common Pleas.

Frantz, Johnson and Friedman all said the change will speed up the process.

By having access to the police reports and witness statements, it will allow defense attorneys to know if there are problems in the case, which might result in a plea instead of a trial.

Friedman said open discovery “will reduce wrongful convictions, save the taxpayers great amounts of money and should give the public greater confidence in our legal system.”

“As prosecutors, we are interested in seeing justice done,” Frantz said. “If letting them see statements and police reports results in a just (decision), it benefits prosecutors.”

The country is split on open discovery, but the trend shows more states are moving in that direction, Friedman said. One of the things that makes Ohio’s rule different is a three-tier level of disclosure that allows prosecutors the discretion to withhold some information and evidence if a victim or investigation might be compromised. Some documents might be stamped “for counsel only.”

However, Friedman said he believes the majority of information will be shared without a problem. He believes other states will look at Ohio’s rule as a model.

Frantz said it took months and months of meetings to arrive at a final rule, adding “it came to us slowly.” In the end, “we fashioned a new rule that will change the landscape of how criminal cases are handled.”

He praised the efforts of prosecutors and defense attorneys to work together and reach an agreement.

Friedman said Frantz brought “great vision and practicality to the debates. Everyone at that table, regardless of what side they represented, listened to Martin because he has tremendous credibility, and you knew he was fair.

“I wished he were involved in every debate in this state. They would be resolved very quickly and amicably.”