In 1998, a Joint Electronic Technology Working Group (JETWG) was created to address best practices for the efficient and cost-effective management of post-indictment discovery of electronically stored information -- otherwise known as ESI -- between the government and defendants charged in federal criminal cases. JETWG was established by the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and the Attorney General of the United States. It consists of representatives of the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts’ Office of Defender Services, the Department of Justice, Federal Defender Organizations, private attorneys who accept Criminal Justice Act appointments, and liaisons from the United States Judiciary and other AOUSC offices. Earlier this year JETWG produced a set of recommendations for discovery of ESI in federal criminal cases. These recommendations, now more commonly known simply as the protocol, set forth a recommended framework for the handling of electronically stored information as discovery materials in a federal criminal case. The protocol attempts to tackle the difficulties such discovery poses for both sides, and mirrors to some degree the ways in which ESI discovery is handled under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in federal civil cases. Because of the prevalence of ESI discovery in many federal criminal cases, the protocol is a must-read for all practitioners in federal criminal cases. Introduction to Recommendations for Electronically Stored Information ("ESI")