Also known as: after discovered evidence · afterdiscovered evidence · newly discovered evidence
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Evidence discovered after a trial or judgment that a party could not have found earlier through reasonable diligence.
Aaron Adams lost a patent suit to Aether Technologies when the jury found no infringement. Six months later a former Aether engineer handed Adams internal design documents that had never been produced. Adams moved under Rule 60(b)(2) for relief from the judgment. The court considered whether the documents qualified as after-discovered evidence that could not have been located earlier with reasonable diligence.
Angela Acosta was convicted after a bench trial of insider trading. Nearly two years later investigators decrypted chat logs showing a key government witness had fabricated injury reports. Acosta filed a motion for a new trial based on the logs. The court examined whether the motion satisfied the three-year filing window that applies when after-discovered evidence supplies the ground.
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Anita Ali was convicted of sports-betting offenses. Twenty days after the verdict her lawyer moved for a new trial citing the judge's mid-trial comments. The motion did not rely on any newly surfaced material. The court denied the request because the fourteen-day deadline for grounds other than after-discovered evidence had already passed.
Alexandra Armstrong was convicted on the testimony of a cooperating witness who denied receiving any promises from prosecutors. Months later defense counsel obtained a letter showing the witness had been promised leniency. Armstrong sought a new trial on the basis of the letter. The court assessed whether the undisclosed promise constituted after-discovered evidence that undermined the verdict.
Ava Adebayo was convicted of murder after the prosecution withheld a witness statement that pointed to another suspect. The statement surfaced years later during a civil suit. Adebayo moved to vacate the conviction. The court considered whether the withheld statement qualified as after-discovered evidence that the defense could not have obtained earlier.
Aisha Ahmed was convicted after the government failed to disclose that its main witness had received a reward offer. The reward agreement surfaced after the verdict. Ahmed filed a motion for a new trial. The court evaluated whether the undisclosed reward agreement amounted to after-discovered evidence that could have affected the outcome.
A motion for a new trial grounded on after-discovered evidence must be filed within three years after the verdict. A motion based on any other ground must be filed within fourteen days. If an appeal is pending the district court may not grant the motion until the appellate court remands the case.
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A Rule 59 motion for a new trial must be filed no later than twenty-eight days after entry of judgment. After-discovered evidence that could not have been found earlier with reasonable diligence may instead support a Rule 60(b)(2) motion for relief from judgment, which carries a one-year outer limit.
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No. The moving party must show the evidence could not have been discovered earlier with reasonable diligence and that it would probably produce a different result. Courts retain discretion to deny relief even when the evidence is material.
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Yes. Under 28 U.S.C. § 2255(h)(1) a second or successive motion may be certified if it contains newly discovered evidence that, viewed in light of the evidence as a whole, would establish by clear and convincing evidence that no reasonable factfinder would have found the movant guilty.
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…in criminal proceedings. Moreover, it comports with the widely used standard for assessing motions for new trial based on newly discovered evidence. See Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 19-20, and nn. 10, 11. Nevertheless, the standard is not quite appropriate. Even when the specified attorney error results in the omission of…