286
Opinion of the Court
beas proceedings without a showing of good cause.29 Even
pursuant to the broader discovery provisions afforded at trial, petitioner would not have had access to these materials under Virginia law, except as modified by Brady.30 Mere
speculation that some exculpatory material may have been withheld is unlikely to establish good cause for a discovery request on collateral review. Nor, in our opinion, should such suspicion suffice to impose a duty on counsel to advance a claim for which they have no evidentiary support. Proper respect for state procedures counsels against a requirement that all possible claims be raised in state collateral proceedings, even when no known facts support them. The presumption, well established by " 'tradition and experience,' " that prosecutors have fully " 'discharged their official duties,' " United States v. Mezzanatto, 513 U. S. 196, 210 (1995), is inconsistent with the novel suggestion that conscientious defense counsel have a procedural obligation to assert consti-29 Virginia law provides that "no discovery shall be allowed in any proceeding for a writ of habeas corpus or in the nature of coram nobis without prior leave of the court, which may deny or limit discovery in any such proceeding." Va. Sup. Ct. Rule 4:1(b)(5)(3)(b) (1998); see also Yeatts v. Murray, 249 Va. 285, 289, 455 S. E. 2d 18, 21 (1995). Respondent acknowledges that petitioner was not entitled to discovery under Virginia law. Brief for Respondent 25.
30 See Va. Sup. Ct. Rule 3A:11 (1998). This rule expressly excludes from defendants "the discovery or inspection of statements made by Commonwealth witnesses or prospective Commonwealth witnesses to agents of the Commonwealth or of reports, memoranda or other internal Commonwealth documents made by agents in connection with the investigation or prosecution of the case, except [for scientific reports of the accused or alleged victim]." The Virginia Supreme Court found that petitioner had been afforded all the discovery he was entitled to on direct review. "Limited discovery is permitted in criminal cases by the Rules of Court. . . . Strickler had the benefit of all the discovery to which he was entitled under the Rules. Those rights do not extend to general production of evidence, except in the limited areas prescribed by Rule 3A:11." Strickler v. Commonwealth, 241 Va. 482, 491, 404 S. E. 2d 227, 233 (1991).
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