Wharen v. State

Patrick W. Wharen, Sr. (“Appellant”), appeals the denial of his petition for writ of mandamus in which he sought free copies of discovery materials prepared at public expense from the Public Defender for the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit (“Appellee”). Transcripts and record documents prepared at public expense on behalf of an indigent defendant must be provided to him without charge. Accordingly, we reverse with directions to the trial court to require Appellee to respond to the petition and to identify which of the requested discovery materials were prepared or obtained at public expense that…