Those handling felonies will soon need additional training.

Starting in two years, lawyers handling felony criminal cases must have completed a two-hour CLE course on discovery and their responsibilities under the U.S. Supreme Court's Brady ruling, the Florida Supreme Court has decided.

The court on May 15 approved new Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.113, which was proposed, at the court's request, by the Criminal Court Steering Committee.

"Rule 3.113 is intended to implement the Florida Innocence Commission's recommendation that the criminal rules be amended to require that any attorney who is practicing law in a felony case complete at least a two-hour course regarding the law of discovery and Brady responsibilities," the court said in its unanimous per curiam ruling.

In order to ensure there are enough qualified counsel, the court made the rule effective on May 16, 2016. It also said that trial judges can remove unqualified counsel from cases and should make sure that lawyers they appoint to cases have complied with the rule.

The new rule reads: "Before an attorney may participate as counsel of record in the circuit court for any adult felony case, including postconviction proceedings before the trial court, the attorney must complete a course, approved by The Florida Bar for continuing legal education credits, of at...