The Court establishes a template for courts to strike a proper balance between a defendant’s right to pretrial discovery and the public’s interest in protecting child pornography victims from the risk of unnecessary harm arising from the dissemination of child pornography images in the prosecution of criminal trials. Before a court grants defense counsel’s request for discovery of copies of alleged child pornography for viewing in their office, counsel must demonstrate their ability and willingness to abide by stringent conditions of control. In this case, the Protective Order is set aside, and the trial court must reconsider the defendant’s discovery request in light of the Court’s opinion. 6-13-13
