TERMS & CONDITIONS
FOR USE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY CASE SEARCH (DACS) BY DEFENSE COUNSEL
The 90th Judicial District Attorney’s Office has permitted electronic
access to criminal discovery by defense attorneys as a part of our current open
file policy. All Stephens County criminal
cases will be electronically accessed through a web access point (DACS) through
the following link http://99.12.111.222/aty/cgiaty114d.html.
The attorney of record on a criminal case will have electronic access
to the state’s file (excluding any attorney work product) through the
DACS. This open file policy is offered
strictly as a courtesy to defense counsel in order to satisfy the state’s duty pursuant
to Article 39.14 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. The District Attorney’s Office reserves the
right to terminate this manner of discovery, in whole or in part at any time
without notice.
Any disclosure of information through the DACS is strictly for
discovery purposes and does not constitute a public disclosure under any state
or federal public information act, including, but not limited to, the Texas
Public Information Act and the Freedom of Information Act.
You are asked to carefully read the Terms and Conditions before
contacting the District Attorney’s Office in order to register to use the
DACS. By completing registration and
receiving a password, you are indicating that you agree with all the terms and
conditions of its use.
The information contained within the DACS is CONFIDENTIAL and
is disclosed to defense counsel for the sole purpose of preparing the
Defendant’s case and with the expectation that any of the information garnered
will not be used improperly. Defense
counsel is strictly forbidden to:
·
Disseminate information to
any person for any purpose beyond what is necessary to effectively represent
the defendant; and/or
·
Utilize
this information to harass, threaten, or otherwise intimidate victims and/or
witnesses.
·
Provide
printed copies of electronic discovery to any person outside of defense
counsel’s employment.
Defense counsel accepts sole responsibility to ensure that none of the
information obtained from the DACS is used or disseminated improperly. Defense counsel accepts responsibility to
advise all his/her employees or agents of the limits and restrictions contained
within this agreement, with respect to the use of the DACS and to ensure that
all employees and agents abide by the terms and conditions contained herein.
Any breach of this agreement may result in the immediate termination
of the use of the DACS and in such an event; discovery will be complied with by
inspection rather than by reproduction in all future cases.
POLICIES AND
PROCEDURE FOR DACS ACCESS
Defense Counsel will be required to register with the District
Attorney’s Office to use the DACS. The
registration process requires the attorney’s bar number, e-mail address and a
password.
Use of the DACS enables the attorney of record to access his/her
pending cases any time and from any computer with Internet access.
Defense counsel will access the DACS by entering his/her e-mail
address and a password. In the event
counsel believes his/her password has been compromised, counsel must
immediately:
1. Change the password
2. Notify the District Attorney’s
Office of the compromised password via e-mail at 90thDA@youngcounty.org
Access cannot be given to any case not yet filed with the District
Attorney or to any case where the defendant has not been arrested. Access to a particular case will only be
given after indictment and once Counsel has notified the District Attorney’s
Office that counsel is attorney of record by providing a letter of
representation or if an Order of Court Appointed Counsel has been
received. Only the attorney of record
may access the DACS for a particular criminal case. Should counsel find that he/she does not
have access to a particular criminal case where counsel is of record, counsel
may request access by sending an email to: 90thDA@youngcounty.org . Requests made on weekends,
holidays, or after 5:00 pm on regular business days will not be processed until
the next business day. Counsel’s access
to a case will remain open until disposition of the case or until counsel is no
longer the attorney of record. In the
event that defense counsel is inadvertently given access to a case for which
he/she is not the attorney of record, counsel should refrain from accessing the
case and immediately notify the District Attorney’s Office at 90thDA@youngcounty.org .
It is defense counsel’s sole responsibility to:
1. Review his/her case discovery through DACS;
2. Review the discovery prior to any
court hearings , status conferences or trials for any additions or updated
information;
3. Advise the District Attorney’s
Office if counsel believes information is missing or incomplete;
4. Schedule an appointment to review
any physical evidence;
5. Request a copy of any dvd/video; and
6. Advise the District Attorney’s
office via email if there are any problems with access to the DACS.
NOTICE: Medical Records, EMS Records,
Child Protective Services Records, and any records relating to the Child
Advocacy Center will be made available for inspection by appointment with the
District Attorney’s Office. These
records may be reflected in DACS but they will not be viewable. To make an appointment please call (940) 549-4132.