What is the effect of the Court of Appeal's order requiring the prosecution to disclose the names of witnesses to the defense?

We already have explained that the order presently on review, insofar as it relates to pretrial discovery, represents a reasonable exercise of discretion under section 1054.7 and a "conscientious effort" (People v. Lopez, supra, 60 Cal.2d at p. 247, 32 Cal.Rptr. 424, 384 P.2d 16) to balance the defense's need for information before trial against the realistic danger to the witnesses inherent in premature disclosure. At trial, however, the confrontation clause imposes greater demands upon the prosecution in that defendants must be afforded an adequate opportunity to confront and cross-examine effectively the witnesses who testify against them. As we have seen, even the Court of Appeal majority opined that without knowledge of the witnesses' identities, defense counsel "will have difficulty obtaining complete information about the witnesses' location and ability to observe and testify about the crime[,] ... [and] will be unable to [obtain] complete impeaching information, such as the witnesses' reputation for truthfulness or dishonesty, previous history and accuracy of providing information to law enforcement, and other motives to fabricate, such as revenge or reduction or dismissal of their own charges." Indeed, without access to either the witnesses' names or their photographs, defense counsel are unlikely to be able to conduct an adequate investigation of the witnesses or of the veracity of their testimony, or challenge the accuracy of the information concerning the witnesses provided by the prosecution, including their prior criminal records or the benefits that may have been provided to them in return for their testimony.