Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-89-04092/USCOURTS-ca10-89-04092-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Martin J. Martinez
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

,. 

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff-Appellee, 

FILED 

United States Court of Appeals 

Tench Circuit 

MAY 2 3 1990 

ROBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk 

v. 

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) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

No. 89-4092 

MARTIN J. MARTINEZ, 

Defendant-Appellant. 

) I 

y 

(D.C. No. 89-CR-0036A) 

(D. Utah) 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* 

Before TACHA, BALDOCK, and BRORBY, Circuit Judges. 

This appeal is from an order of the district court denying 

defendant's motion for a new trial. Defendant appeals on the 

grounds that the district court erred when it denied a motion for 

new trial based on an affidavit recanting the testimony of a key 

government witness and on newly discovered evidence relating to 

the existence of an individual named Jesus Lopez who allegedly was 

involved in the cocaine transaction. We affirm. 

A motion for new trial based on newly discovered evidence 

should only be granted where the newly discovered evidence is more 

than impeaching or cumulative, is material to the issues involved, 

and would probably produce an acquittal. Further, when the motion 

* This order and judgment has no precedential value and shall 

not be cited, or used by any court within the Tenth Circuit, 

except for purposes of establishing the doctrines of the law of 

the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. 10th Cir. R. 

36.3. 

Appellate Case: 89-4092 Document: 01019970497 Date Filed: 05/23/1990 Page: 1 
is based on recanted testimony the trial court must be satisfied 

that the challenged testimony was actually false. See United 

States~ Bradshaw, 787 F.2d 1385 (10th Cir. 1986). 

The alleged newly discovered evidence in this case included 

an affidavit in which government witness Gonzales recanted his 

trial testimony and information with respect to the identity and 

existence of Jesus Lopez, who the defense alleges was the intended 

person to whom the delivery of the cocaine was to be made. This 

proffer of newly discovered evidence is merely impeaching 

evidence. The record clearly shows that other evidence in this 

case corroborated Gonzales's original testimony and the 

involvement of defendant in this case. We cannot say that the 

district court abused its discretion in denying a new trial under 

the circumstances of this case. AFFIRMED. 

-2-

ENTERED FOR THE COURT 

Deanell Reece Tacha 

Circuit Judge 

Appellate Case: 89-4092 Document: 01019970497 Date Filed: 05/23/1990 Page: 2