Opinion ID: 558592
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Favorable and Material Evidence

Text: 12 The second and third elements of a valid Brady complaint are that the information must have been favorable and material to the defense. Moore v. Illinois, 408 U.S. at 786, 92 S.Ct. at 2564. Appellant argues that the withheld information regarding Soto's criminal background was favorable to the defense and would have been material to the outcome at trial. We agree that the favorability of the evidence is unquestionable. Soto's undisclosed criminal record constitutes exculpatory evidence that the defense could have used to impeach Soto on cross-examination. 13 We also conclude that the evidence was material to the defense. See Landano v. Rafferty, 856 F.2d 569, 573 (3d Cir.1988). The Supreme Court has explained that implicit in the requirement of materiality is a concern that the suppressed evidence might have affected the outcome of the trial. United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 105, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 2398, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976); accord United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 3379, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985) (plurality opinion). A defendant is entitled to a new trial where there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is [defined as] a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. Bagley, 105 S.Ct. at 3383. This court has recognized that the Bagley inquiry requires consideration of the totality of the circumstances, including possible effects of non-disclosure on the defense's trial preparation. Gov't of Virgin Islands v. Martinez, 780 F.2d 302, 306 (3d Cir.1985) (quoting Bagley, 105 S.Ct. at 3384). 14 Appellant has presented a compelling argument that the withheld information was material. Had the evidence been disclosed, the result of the proceeding might have been different. Soto appears to have had several contacts with the criminal justice system. He has had, at least, two prior convictions and has been subjected to a psychiatric exam. (App. at 221-227). Such information would have been critical in presenting the witness' mental state, demeanor and behavior to the jury, and in questioning the witness' credibility. In the instant case, defense counsel had the rare opportunity of being able to proffer, on appeal, a case that demonstrates exactly how the information might have been utilized in Perdomo's defense. In a case arising out of an unrelated incident, but with a factual setting quite similar to the case at hand, Jose Rosario was acquitted of charges arising from another Narcotics Strike Force operation that involved the same Hector Soto. At Mr. Rosario's trial, Soto testified as the key prosecution witness. The significant difference in the Rosario case was that, this time, the defense was provided with Soto's criminal history. Our review of the excerpts from the Rosario trial transcript reaffirms our judgment that the information concerning Soto's criminal background would have contributed significantly to the outcome in Perdomo's trial. Seldom have appellate judges seen such persuasive evidence that the availability of information on a prior conviction could have made a difference. We emphasize, however, that we simply find the information from the Rosario trial persuasive. We do not mean to suggest that in order to establish that undisclosed information is material, an appellant must offer proof of how the information was actually utilized in a subsequent trial. The inquiry for the court is simply whether there is a reasonable probability that the outcome of the trial would have been different. We find that a strong probability exists here. 15 The district court did not apply the correct standard for measuring materiality at the sentencing hearing. The court reasoned that the undisclosed information was not material because the jury had ample opportunity to evaluate Soto's credibility due to other damaging testimony that had been elicited concerning the government payments to Soto and his prior drug usage. (App. at 27). Whether or not the jury has had an opportunity to consider other impeachment evidence is not the correct standard for determining materiality of undisclosed information. It is well-established that impeachment evidence as well as exculpatory evidence falls within the Brady rule. Bagley, 105 S.Ct. at 3380 (citing Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 92 S.Ct. 763, 766, 31 L.Ed.2d 104 (1972)). Such evidence is 'evidence favorable [and material] to the accused' [citations omitted] so that, if disclosed and used effectively, it may make the difference between conviction and acquittal. Id. (emphasis added) In addition, a defendant is not required to show that evidence, if disclosed, probably would have resulted in acquittal. The Supreme Court has offered the following explanation: 16 [i]f the standard applied to the usual motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence were the same when the evidence was in the State's possession as when it was found in a neutral source, there would be no special significance to the prosecutor's obligation to serve the cause of justice. Bagley, 105 S.Ct. at 3383. 17 The question is, therefore, whether the testimony that the defense would have been able to elicit would have been different had counsel known of Soto's criminal record beforehand. In Bagley, the Supreme Court found that there was a significant likelihood that the prosecutor's negative response to the motion for discovery misleadingly induced defense counsel to believe that the two key witnesses could not be impeached on the basis of bias or interest arising from inducements offered by the Government. Bagley, 105 S.Ct. at 3384. Here, there is also a significant likelihood that the prosecutor's response to the defense's request for criminal background information induced defense counsel to believe that Soto could not be impeached because counsel assumed that he had no prior criminal record. In Bagley, the case was remanded for a determination of whether there was a reasonable probability that had the government's inducement to the witnesses been disclosed to the defense, the result of the trial would have been different. In view of the extant circumstances here, a remand is also required for a similar determination. 18