Opinion ID: 672080
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Reference to the Guilty Plea of Kenneth Cross, a

Text: Non-Testifying Co-Defendant 12 Cleotha, Reginald, Dwight, and Regina contend that the references made during opening arguments to the fact that Kenneth Cross had already pled guilty were so prejudicial as to entitle them to a new trial. The government responds that each of the defendants assented to the referral to the respective pleas of guilty to the defendants who pleaded, including Ken's guilty plea, during a recorded discussion with the court held outside the presence of the jury and prior to opening statements.
13 Prior to the trial of the five defendants before us, three of the nine defendants named in the superseding indictment pled guilty: Kenneth, Gary Petty, and Robert Wheeler. A fourth individual, Robert Edwards, also pled guilty before trial on a related but separate charge of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Petty's and Edwards's names appeared on the government's witness list and both testified at the trial of Cleotha, Reginald, Dwight, S.T., and Regina. On the other hand, Ken Cross's and Wheeler's names failed to appear on the witness list because neither the prosecution nor any of the defense counsel intended to call them to the witness stand. 14 All five defendants were represented by separate counsel. Prior to opening statements, counsel for S.T. made the following inquiry of the court: 15 [Counsel for S.T.]: Yes, Judge. I have an inquiry for guidance purposes during the course of opening statements of what references we can make about those defendants who have disposed of their case and/or those defendants who have been severed out. 16 The Court: Well, I guess you let your conscience be your guide on what to say about that. It's certainly going to be, if any of these people who have pled out are going to testify as witnesses for the government you can drag that out if you think it will help you. 17 [Counsel for S.T.]: I was just concerned. I was going to do something, yeah. We are not precluded from mentioning dispositions? 18 The Court: No, not at all. 19 Record at 8-9. Following the court's No, not at all response, the topic of discussion moved on to an unrelated matter. None of S.T. Cross's four co-defendants voiced an objection to S.T. Cross's counsel's stated intention of mentioning dispositions. 20 Although the prosecution's opening argument focused on each defendant's relationship to Kenneth Cross, the prosecution did not mention Ken Cross's plea to the charges against him. Counsel for Dwight Johnson began his opening argument, stating, Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Kenny Cross. Kenny Cross. Kenny Cross. A name you've heard a lot of already. A name you are going to hear a lot of in the course of this trial[,] but he likewise did not mention that Kenneth had pled guilty. 21 S.T.'s counsel was the second of the five defense attorneys to present an opening argument. In keeping with the district court's response to his inquiry about mentioning dispositions, counsel informed the jury that Edwards and Petty, both of whom were on the government's witness list, had pled guilty and would testify for the prosecution. In addition, S.T.'s counsel joined the Kenny Cross, Kenny Cross, Kenny Cross theme as his theory of defense, and also mentioned on several occasions that Ken Cross and Robert Wheeler, two co-defendants whose names did not appear on the government's witness list, had, as counsel put it, gone down for the count. As counsel for S.T. informed this court at oral argument, one of his strategies was to play to the jury's sympathies: since Kenneth, the big fish, who was the target of the investigation, had already been landed, the little fish, like his client S.T., ought to be let go. Although Cleotha, Reginald, Dwight, and Regina now complain that the references to Kenneth Cross's guilty plea were so prejudicial as to entitle them to reversal, apparently none were paying attention, as they must, for not one of the other four defense attorneys timely objected to the references to Ken Cross's or Wheeler's guilty pleas. 22 Counsel for Reginald was next in line to present his opening statement. Midway through his argument, counsel followed S.T.'s attorney's lead and remarked, Now, other people before me have talked a little bit about evidence. So let's talk a little bit about evidence. You know, Kenny Cross pled guilty in this case. Kenny Cross had a good case, the government put together a good case against Kenny Cross. Once again, none of the defense counsel objected on behalf of their clients to the mention of Cross's guilty plea. When Regina's and Cleotha's attorneys presented their opening statements, neither of them made reference to any of the guilty pleas. 23 On the second day of trial before taking any testimony, outside the presence of the jury, the attorneys for Cleotha, Dwight, and Regina moved the court for a mistrial based on the references to Ken Cross's guilty plea. Counsel for S.T. and Reginald did not join in the objection. The district court denied the motion for mistrial. Counsel for Cleotha, Dwight, and Regina also moved for a severance on the basis of the mention of Ken's guilty plea, arguing that it had become difficult ... to assert that a conspiracy did not exist in the first instance with the jury knowing that Mr. Cross, the key player, has essentially said it did. The trial court took the severance motion under advisement and later denied it. 5 After the objection and request for a mistrial had been overruled, none of the defense attorneys again raised the issue of the references to Ken's guilty plea throughout the duration of the trial. Not one of the attorneys requested the court to give a cautionary instruction to the jury advising them that a co-defendant's guilty plea may not be used as substantive evidence of another defendant's guilt. During the course of trial Petty and Edwards both testified and were cross-examined about the circumstances surrounding their guilty pleas, but Kenneth's and Wheeler's guilty pleas were never mentioned again. 24 Notwithstanding the defendants' lack of concern for rectifying the alleged problem of the mention of Ken Cross's guilty plea, the district court issued a series of final instructions to the jury designed to alleviate any alleged harmful effect caused by the mention of Ken's guilty plea. Among the instructions given was the following: 25 What the attorneys have said during the course of the trial and what they will say in their arguments to you, those statements are not evidence and may not be considered by the jury as evidence.... It is what the witnesses have said that's the evidence in this case.... But what the attorneys say is not evidence. 26 The instructions dissipated the risk that the jurors would be improperly influenced by S.T.'s and Reginald's attorneys' references to Kenneth's guilty plea for we rely on our belief that juries heed the instructions they have been given. United States v. Severson, 3 F.3d 1005, 1015 (7th Cir.1993).B. 27 Cleotha, Reginald, Dwight, and Regina contend they were harmed by the references made during opening arguments to the fact that Ken Cross had pled guilty. The government responds that based on the discussion between counsel for S.T. and the district court in the presence of the other four defense counsel, the defendants assented to the reference to Kenneth's guilty plea and therefore may not raise the issue on appeal. In answer to the government's response, the defendants claim that the district court's reply to S.T.'s attorney's inquiry was limited to the mention of testifying co-defendants' guilty pleas. Cleotha, Reginald, Dwight, and Regina argue that although they may have assented to mention of guilty pleas of those co-defendants who were going to testify (Edwards and Petty), they did not assent to the mention of guilty pleas of those co-defendants who were not going to testify (Ken and Wheeler). 28 S.T. concedes that he cannot claim he was harmed by the mention of Ken's guilty plea on appeal because he mentioned Ken's guilty plea to the jury. Additionally, we observe that like counsel for S.T., Reginald's attorney also mentioned to the jury the fact that Ken Cross pled guilty. A party may not invite error and then argue on appeal that the error for which he was responsible entitles him to relief. United States v. Muskovsky, 863 F.2d 1319, 1329 (7th Cir.1988), cert. denied sub nom. Posner v. United States, 489 U.S. 1067, 109 S.Ct. 1345, 103 L.Ed.2d 813 (1989). Because Reginald's counsel mentioned Ken's guilty plea at trial, Reginald may not argue on appeal that the mention of the guilty plea prejudiced him. See Murray v. Carrier, 477 U.S. 478, 492, 106 S.Ct. 2639, 2647-48, 91 L.Ed.2d 397 (1986) (rejecting argument that it was inappropriate to hold defendant to the errors of his attorney); Bateman v. United States, 875 F.2d 1304, 1307 (7th Cir.1989) (noting defendant is typically bound by his competent counsel's decisions). 29 It is established that the guilty plea of a co-defendant may not be used as substantive evidence of another defendant's guilt. United States v. Austin, 786 F.2d 986, 991 (10th Cir.1986); United States v. Baez, 703 F.2d 453, 455 (10th Cir.1983); United States v. Halbert, 640 F.2d 1000, 1004 (9th Cir.1981). As the district court correctly stated in response to S.T.'s attorney's query, however, testifying co-defendants' guilty pleas may be introduced into evidence for the limited purpose of assessing the witness's credibility. United States v. Bryza, 522 F.2d 414 (7th Cir.1975), cert. denied, 426 U.S. 912, 96 S.Ct. 2237, 48 L.Ed.2d 837 (1976). The concern raised by the mention of a co-defendant's guilty plea is that after a jury learns that one co-defendant has admitted guilt, it may possibly infer that the defendant on trial is more likely to be guilty, as well. Baez, 703 F.2d at 455. It is generally accepted that absent agreement, courts and prosecutors generally are forbidden from mentioning that a co-defendant has either pled guilty or been convicted. United States v. Griffin, 778 F.2d 707, 710 (11th Cir.1985). This general principle, of course, gives way when the evidence against the defendant(s) is so overwhelming that any error is rendered harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. E.g., United States v. Blevins, 960 F.2d 1252, 1262-63 (4th Cir.1992). 30 Despite precautions, occasionally a reference is made to a non-testifying co-defendant's guilty plea (whether careless or as part of a planned trial tactic). When this happens, those who deem the remark as unwelcome should make a timely and specific objection, in order that the court has the opportunity to rectify the error, if indeed there has been error, at the time. See United States v. Lewis, 954 F.2d 1386, 1391 (7th Cir.1992). An objection raised some time after the alleged error has occurred and after the opportunity to address the error has passed obviously defeats the purpose of the requirement of timeliness. In addition to being timely, the objection must also specify the precise nature of the alleged error; simply saying, I object is insufficient to apprise the court of the alleged error. See United States v. Wynn, 845 F.2d 1439, 1442 (7th Cir.1988). Likewise, defense counsel is well-advised to request a prompt cautionary instruction from the trial court. Blevins, 960 F.2d at 1260 ([i]f for whatever reason the jury does learn that co-defendants have pleaded guilty, the court upon request should issue a limiting instruction to jurors stating that the evidence of such guilty pleas is not to be taken as substantive evidence of guilt of the remaining defendants); see Halbert, 640 F.2d at 1006. In this case, none of the four defendants objected when, prior to opening argument, counsel for S.T. addressed the court and stated his intention of mentioning dispositions. (Most likely the failure to object was because mentioning dispositions was the theory of defense for the other defendants: the big fish has been caught therefore let the little fish go). Likewise none of the defendants timely objected when the references to Kenneth's guilty plea were made, but after having second thoughts, objections were finally raised the next day and overruled by the court. Even at that time, however, not one of the defendants requested that the court give a prompt cautionary instruction. 31 Because counsel for Cleotha, Dwight, and Regina were present and raised no objection when counsel for S.T. on the record received permission from the court to mention the guilty pleas of the two testifying co-defendants, Petty and Edwards, without doubt Cleotha, Dwight, and Regina were on notice of and impliedly assented to the mention of testifying co-defendants' guilty pleas. The question presented to us by the government is, under all the circumstances, whether Cleotha, Dwight, and Regina were all reasonably put on notice of S.T.'s counsel's intent to mention the guilty plea of Kenneth, a non-testifying co-defendant? 32 The government's argument is that because Kenneth Cross was at the hub of the government's case, as well as at the center of each theory of defense to the conspiracy charge (each defense attorney argued that although his respective client knew Kenneth, the defendant did not conspire with Cross to distribute cocaine), and because the district court's response to S.T.'s attorney's inquiry did not expressly preclude mention of Ken's guilty plea, the defense attorneys should have lodged an objection to S.T.'s stated intention of mentioning dispositions, or at least asked the court for a clarification as to whether the court's response to S.T.'s inquiry also applied to non-testifying co-defendants like Ken Cross. We need not resolve this argument that Cleotha, Dwight, and Regina agreed that S.T. could mention Kenneth's guilty plea to the jury, because after considering the totality of the evidence, the references to Kenneth's guilty plea were harmless, as explained below. C. 33 We initially observe that Cleotha, Dwight, and Regina failed to make a timely, specific objection to the references to Kenneth's guilty plea made during opening arguments, and have thus forfeited the right to allege error on appeal based on the mention of the guilty plea. 6 As our Supreme Court recently stated in United States v. Olano, --- U.S. ----, ----, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 1776, 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993),  '[n]o procedural principle is more familiar to this Court than that a constitutional right,' or a right of any other sort, 'may be forfeited in criminal as well as civil cases by the failure to make timely assertion of the right before a tribunal having jurisdiction to determine it'[,] (quoting Yakus v. United States, 321 U.S. 414, 444, 64 S.Ct. 660, 677, 88 L.Ed. 834 (1944). By failing to timely object when the references to Ken Cross's guilty plea were made, the defendants forfeited the right to predicate error on the passing references to Ken Cross's guilty plea by their co-defense attorneys in the opening statements. See Olano, --- U.S. at ---- - ----, 113 S.Ct. at 1776-77. The defendants have only themselves to blame for this failure to timely object. 34 Normally a defendant's failure to make a timely assertion of his rights triggers a plain error analysis under Fed.R.Crim.Pro. 52(b). The government, however, has not argued that the defendants forfeited their rights by failing to make a timely and specific objection, request admonitions, and submit curative jury instructions concerning the mention of a non-testifying co-defendant's guilty plea, leaving us to assess the defendants' argument on the merits without the screen of the plain error standard. United States v. Leichtnam, 948 F.2d 370, 375 (7th Cir.1991); United States v. Malin, 908 F.2d 163, 167 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 991, 111 S.Ct. 534, 112 L.Ed.2d 544 (1990). Nevertheless, we are convinced that when considering the totality of the record before us the mere mentioning of Kenneth Cross's guilty plea by the two defense attorneys in the opening statements of the two week trial was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See Brecht v. Abrahamson, --- U.S. ----, ----, 113 S.Ct. 1710, 1717, 123 L.Ed.2d 353 (1993) (citing Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967)); Blevins, 960 F.2d at 1262-64. In Blevins, the Fourth Circuit held that despite three references to non-testifying co-defendants guilty pleas during the course of the trial (by the judge, the prosecutor and a government witness), the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because the evidence of the defendants' guilt was overwhelming. 960 F.2d at 1263-65. In the case before us, we reach the same conclusion as the Blevins court for the following reasons. 35 Initially, we hasten to point out that the references to Ken Cross were relatively innocuous in that they occurred solely during the opening statements of a trial that produced nearly 1500 pages of testimony. Not one of the testifying witnesses mentioned that Ken had pled guilty and the subject never arose again during the trial. The fact that the guilty plea was not even referred to after the first afternoon makes it less than likely that the jury considered the remarks. See United States v. Keskey, 863 F.2d 474, 480 (7th Cir.1988). 36 Secondly, the court instructed the jurors that they had a sworn duty, an obligation to be fair and to be impartial to all sides here and to base your ultimate decision or decisions in this case on the evidence that has been presented during the course of the trial. (Emphasis added). The court then advised the jury that [t]he defendants are presumed to be innocent and may not be found guilty on any count by the jury unless the jury is convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant has been proven guilty. (Emphasis added). The court next instructed the jury that 37 You will decide the case based on the evidence. And the evidence consists of the sworn testimony that was given by witnesses during the trial, the exhibits that have been received and identified during the course of the trial, the stipulations, that is, the agreements that were announced to you by the attorneys. That's the evidence in this case. 38 You notice I did not include in my definition of evidence statements of the attorneys. What the attorneys have said during the course of the trial and what they will say in their arguments to you, those statements are not evidence and may not be considered by the jury as evidence ... it is what the witnesses have said that's the evidence in this case ... but what the attorneys say is not evidence. 39 Additionally, the trial judge advised the jury that the guilty pleas of [Petty and Edwards] are not to be considered in any way as evidence against these defendants. (Emphasis added). Finally, the judge reminded the jury that [t]he burden of proof rests with the government. The government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendants are not required to prove their innocence to you. See Blevins, 960 F.2d at 1260-61 (holding reference to nontestifying co-defendants' guilty pleas was harmless error despite failure of court to give specific limiting instruction regarding nontestifying co-defendants). 40 Aside from the jury instructions, the evidence that Cleotha, Dwight, and Regina were guilty of the crimes with which they were charged is overwhelming. Not only was the evidence of guilt of each and every element of each and every crime charged proved beyond a reasonable doubt, but not one scintilla of evidence against the defendants has been challenged through contradictory testimony--the only challenges to the defendants' guilt were via the vehicle of cross-examination. On the other hand, in the interest of fairness, we must point out that the three defense attorneys had little to work with, for the evidence against their clients was overwhelming. For example, the evidence was uncontradicted that Cleotha helped Kenneth cut the cocaine, divide it into one-ounce quantities, and package the drug for sale, sell the drug, and count the money. Crystal Parker testified that Cleotha sold cocaine he received from Kenneth to her on thirty or forty occasions, and that Cleotha built fortifications inside one of Kenneth's drug houses. Edwards testified that one time when he wanted an ounce of cocaine he called Kenneth, who directed him to Cleotha, who merely handed the cocaine to Edwards and collected the money without asking any questions. Kenneth told others that while he was in jail, Cleotha assisted in the operation. Dwight likewise sold cocaine for Kenneth and when Kenneth was confined, Dwight managed the operation because Ken considered him trustworthy. At Ken's direction, Dwight gave discounted prices to valued customers. Dwight delivered five ounces of cocaine to Andre Welch on Kenneth's behest while Kenneth was incarcerated, and returned two days later to pick up the money. On at least two occasions Welch bought two ounces of cocaine from Dwight after being directed to Dwight by Ken. When Welch tried to leave the cocaine ring, Dwight, among others, pressured Welch to remain. And as we will discuss in greater detail, Regina, like Cleotha and Dwight, also distributed and sold cocaine for Kenneth. She accompanied Kenneth to his Detroit supplier, and, like Dwight, loaned Kenneth cash in order that he might replenish his temporarily depleted drug supply. When the police searched Regina's house, they found eighteen ounces of cocaine and her handgun in her safe. 41 Looking at the facts, circumstances, and evidence surrounding this two week trial in their totality, and after considering the 1500 pages of testimony of 31 witnesses, we conclude that the evidence against each of the defendants named in the indictment was overwhelming. We refuse to accept the argument that the mere mention of Ken Cross's guilty plea by the respective co-counsel in opening argument had any influence on the guilty findings of the defendants who went to trial before the jury. We also reject the defendants' argument that the mention of Ken Cross's guilty plea to the conspiracy charge in the opening statements of two of the defense attorneys relieved the government of having to prove the existence of the conspiracy. Considering the fact that neither the government, nor the defense attorneys, nor the court referred to the guilty plea after the opening statements, it is ridiculous to suggest that the prosecutor was relieved of his duty of presenting proof beyond a reasonable doubt that each and every defendant was guilty of each and every element of the charged conspiracy. In fact, the prosecutor presented overwhelming evidence (1) that the conspiracy existed, (2) that each defendant was a participant, and (3) that overt acts were committed in furtherance of the conspiracy. When the evidence of guilt against the defendants is overwhelming, it is highly unlikely that references in an opening statement to a co-defendant's guilty plea will have any effect on the outcome. Blevins, 960 F.2d at 1263-65; cf. Baez, 703 F.2d at 456 (mention of non-testifying co-defendant's guilty plea made by judge; the evidence was so far from overwhelming that the judge's prejudicial remarks could well have affected the outcome of the trial and tipped the scale). As the Tenth Circuit stated in United States v. Williams, 445 F.2d 421, 424 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 966, 92 S.Ct. 342, 30 L.Ed.2d 286 (1971), and as is the case here, the evidence is so one-sided that it is inconceivable that [correction of the mention of the guilty plea] would have had any influence on the judgment of the jury or affected the result. 42 Because the references to Kenneth's guilty plea were made in passing only during the opening statements of a two week trial, because the court's jury instructions dissipated the risk that the jurors would be improperly influenced by the passing mentions of Ken's guilty plea, and because the evidence against the defendants was overwhelming, we conclude that the references to Ken's guilty plea were not prejudicial to the defendants. 7 II. Newly Discovered Evidence 43 The defendants filed two separate motions for a new trial based on Fed.R.Crim.P. 33. The first motion was filed immediately following the July 1992 trial and the second motion was filed on June 3, 1993. We address the trial court's denial of these two motions in turn. 44 At trial, Sabrina Owens was queried as to why and how she became involved as a government informant and ultimately a witness. She answered that after a fistfight with her drug-dealing boyfriend she had called the police for protection. During her contact with the police, she became aware that her boyfriend was already under investigation, and when the police offered her inpatient treatment at a drug rehabilitation facility, relocation, and 18-25% of seized assets, 8 she agreed to work as an informant in the Cross investigation. Over the defendants' protestations, the jury was not admitted to learn that on May 11, 1991, at approximately the time she agreed to act as an informant in the Cross investigation, Owens was under arrest for the crime of first degree homicide of her 10-week old daughter. 45 Immediately following the return of the jury's guilty verdicts, the five defendants filed a Fed.R.Crim.P. 33 motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence--specifically, Sabrina Owens's potential involvement in the homicide of her daughter. Prior to trial, the defendants' attorneys had in their possession a Milwaukee Police Department rap sheet referencing the fact that Sabrina Owens had been arrested for first degree homicide on May 11, 1991. The district court denied the motion for a new trial, finding that because the defendants had knowledge of Owens's arrest for the suspected homicide of her infant daughter before trial, they had discovered nothing they did not previously have knowledge of, and thus the information could not be classified as newly discovered evidence. The five defendants continue to argue for a new trial, for in their opinion Owens's testimony would have been severely undermined if the jury knew she testified in order to try to escape a trial for the alleged homicide of her daughter. 46 We review the decision to grant or deny a motion for a new trial on the basis of newly discovered evidence under an abuse of discretion standard. United States v. Kamel, 965 F.2d 484, 490 (7th Cir.1992). To justify the grant of a new trial on the basis of newly discovered evidence (Fed.R.Crim.Pro. 33), the defendants must demonstrate that the evidence 1) came to their attention only after trial, 2) could not have been discovered sooner had due diligence been exercised, 3) is material and not merely impeaching or cumulative, and 4) would probably lead to an acquittal in the event of a retrial. Id. (citing Jarrett v. United States, 822 F.2d 1438, 1445 (7th Cir.1987)). 47 The defendants' argument fails. The defendants concede they knew before trial that Owens had been arrested for the death of her child, thus failing to satisfy the requirement that the evidence be unknown to them before or at trial. Moreover, their argument that Owens's credibility would have been severely undermined ignores the third requirement of the Kamel test that the evidence must be material and not merely impeaching. Finally, counsel ignore the fact that Owens was certainly not the single source of evidence of the defendants' guilt. Therefore, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for a new trial based on the allegedly newly discovered evidence of Sabrina Owens' involvement in the homicide of her daughter. 9 48 Secondly, we address the defendants' new trial motion, filed with the trial court on June 3, 1993, regarding the government's failure to disclose its participation in delaying/dismissing three separate state charges against Owens (strong-arm robbery and two misdemeanor thefts). Following a two-day evidentiary hearing, the district court found that the government should have disclosed the fact that it requested the state prosecutor to delay filing strong-arm robbery charges against Owens until after she testified at the Cross trial in July 1992. The court found that although the government should have produced this evidence for the defendants pursuant to its open file policy and pursuant to Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), as well as Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 92 S.Ct. 763, 31 L.Ed.2d 104 (1972), the failure to disclose the evidence did not warrant a new trial because under the fourth prong of the Kamel test, the court was not convinced that the outcome of [the] trial would have been different had the matters been fully disclosed. United States v. Johnson, at 640. The court summarized the overwhelming evidence against the defendants and explained that while Sabrina Owens was a good witness for the government in this case ... she did not provide all or even a substantial portion of the evidence against these defendants. Id. at 641. Following the trial court's final order denying the motion for a new trial on December 21, 1993, each of the defendants (several weeks apart) appealed to this court. We withheld release of the decision on the direct appeal in order to include the subsequent appeal from the denial of the new trial. We were unable to begin deliberation on the subsequent appeal until briefing was completed on March 21, 1994. As stated above, we review the trial court's refusal to grant a new trial under the abuse of discretion standard. United States v. DePriest, 6 F.3d 1201, 1216 (7th Cir.1993) (We shall reverse a district court's denial of a motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence only if the district court has abused its discretion.... We approach such motions with great caution and are wary of second-guessing the determinations of both judge and jury.) (Citations omitted). 49 The defendants, in their reply brief, acknowledged that they are in agreement with the District Court and the government that the disclosure of the subject Brady and Giglio material would probably not lead to a different result at trial. Reply Brief at 2. The defendants, however, assert that we should dismiss the case or grant a new trial based on our supervisory power to prevent a miscarriage of justice resulting from the government's intentional or negligent failure to disclose its role in dismissing/delaying three state charges against a government witness. In United States v. Hasting, 461 U.S. 499, 505, 103 S.Ct. 1974, 1978, 76 L.Ed.2d 96 (1983), the U.S. Supreme Court explained the purpose and scope of a federal court's supervisory powers: 50  '[G]uided by considerations of justice,' ... and in the exercise of supervisory powers, federal courts may, within limits, formulate procedural rules not specifically required by the Constitution or the Congress. The purposes underlying use of the supervisory powers are threefold: to implement a remedy for violation of recognized rights, ... to preserve judicial integrity by ensuring that a conviction rests on appropriate considerations validly before the jury, ... and finally, as a remedy designed to deter illegal conduct.... 51