(a) Custody and Disposition of Exhibits:
(1) Paper Exhibits: After being marked for identification, all paper
exhibits admitted in evidence shall be placed in the custody of the Clerk of
Court until the transcript has been completed and the record has been
submitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Sixty (60) days following submission of the record on appeal, the Clerk of
Court shall place the exhibits in the custody of the attorney or party
producing them, and the attorney or party shall execute a receipt therefor
to be filed by the Clerk of Court.
(2) Non-paper Exhibits:
(i) After being marked for identification, all non-paper exhibits
admitted in evidence shall be placed in the custody of the Clerk of
Court through the conclusion of a hearing or trial. Upon conclusion
of the hearing or trial, the Clerk of Court shall place the exhibits in
the custody of the attorney or party producing them, and the
attorney or party shall execute a receipt therefor to be filed by the
Clerk of Court.
(ii) A party or attorney who retains custody of a non-paper exhibit
shall make it available to this Court or any appellate court and shall
grant the reasonable request of any party to examine or reproduce
the exhibit for use in the proceeding.
(b) Custody of Sensitive Exhibits: Sensitive exhibits shall include, but are not
necessarily limited to, controlled substances, weapons, ammunition, real or counterfeit
currency, exhibits of a pornographic nature and articles of high monetary value.
Sensitive exhibits offered or received in evidence shall be maintained in the custody of
the Clerk of Court during the course of the hearing or trial. Following the return of a
verdict in a trial or at the conclusion of a hearing, and after the case is timely disposed of
by the Court, sensitive exhibits shall be returned to the entitled party. When the
government is the entitled party, the government may, at the conclusion of all related
cases, request that the United States Marshals Service destroy the evidence.
A party or attorney who retains custody of a sensitive exhibit shall make it
available to this Court or any appellate court and shall grant the reasonable request of
any party to examine or reproduce the exhibit for use in the proceeding.
(c) Alternative Procedures for Custody and Disposition of Exhibits: In its
discretion on a case-by-case basis, the Court may provide the Clerk of Court with
alternative procedures for custody and instructions for disposition of specific exhibits.
