Opinion ID: 2510535
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: CS Interview

Text: [¶ 16] As noted above, CS was interviewed about those individuals to whom she soldor made arrangements to sellmethamphetamine. The appellant, however, claims that CS was creating an exhaustive list of twenty-seven (27) individuals to whom she had sold and/or delivered drugs or individuals who were involved in the illegal drug business with whom she had contact. He further characterizes this statement as one in which CS named her sources and identified people who were in the illegal drug business. Therefore, the appellant claims CS's omission of his name from that list tends to show that he was not involved in the illegal methamphetamine trade. The appellant further claims that, had the information been provided to him prior to trial, it would have been a valuable impeachment tool to show that CS was deeply involved in selling methamphetamine and that CS had been inconsistent in her statements to the police (in another DCI interview on October 28, 2002, CS had implicated the appellant as one of her sources). [¶ 17] Much of the appellant's argument can be dismissed because he mischaracterizes the content of CS's November 5, 2002 interview. CS was naming the people she provided drugs to, not her sources for obtaining drugs, as the appellant claims. The appellant was charged with conspiring to deliver, and delivery of, methamphetamine and there is no indication in the record that he ever purchased methamphetamine from CS. Therefore, this list of individuals does not tend to prove that the appellant was not involved in the illegal drug trade, as the appellant claims. At most, it tends to show that the appellant never purchased methamphetamine from CS, which information was not an issue in this case. Furthermore, CS's interviews with DCI were not inconsistent because the October 28 interview concerned whether CS had obtained methamphetamine from the appellant on October 27 or 28, while the November 5 interview dealt with the unrelated matter of to whom CS had sold methamphetamine through a distribution scheme she developed with Richardson and Gunnett. [4] A prosecutor is not required to deliver his entire file to defense counsel, but only to disclose evidence favorable to the accused that, if suppressed, would deprive the defendant of a fair trial.... Bagley, 473 U.S. at 675, 105 S.Ct. at 3380 (footnote omitted). When the material sought simply has no bearing in a case, it is not favorable and non-disclosure of that information is not error. [¶ 18] The question remains whether the CS interview should have been disclosed as favorable and material evidence because it had value as an impeachment tool. As noted above, it is well-established that impeachment evidence such as this is favorable to an accused. The critical issue then, is whether this information was material. The touchstone of materiality is a `reasonable probability' of a different result, and the adjective is important. The question is not whether the defendant would more likely than not have received a different verdict with the evidence, but whether in its absence he received a fair trial, understood as a trial resulting in a verdict worthy of confidence. A `reasonable probability' of a different result is accordingly shown when the government's evidentiary suppression `undermines confidence in the outcome of the trial.' Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419, 434, 115 S.Ct. 1555, 1566, 131 L.Ed.2d 490 (1995) ( quoting Bagley, 473 U.S. at 678, 105 S.Ct. at 3381). [¶ 19] The appellant argues that the information from CS's interview was material pursuant to our holding in Davis. In that case, Davis had been convicted of conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine and delivery of methamphetamine. Davis, 2002 WY 88, ¶ 1, 47 P.3d at 982. His conviction was due largely to the testimony of one witness, Morris, who testified that Davis had participated in the sale of one gram of methamphetamine. Id. at ¶ 7, 47 P.3d at 983. Three days after Davis was sentenced, he learned of a taped conversation between Morris and an informant that recorded Morris using narcotics. Id. at ¶ 11, 47 P.3d at 984. We reversed and remanded that case for a new trial reasoning that [i]mpeachment evidence that could be used to discredit such an important witness or cast doubt on her veracity is usually material. Id. at ¶ 22, 47 P.3d at 987. In Davis, the credibility of Morris was particularly important and the state took affirmative steps to establish her as a recovering addict who was trustworthy. Id. at ¶¶ 7-9, 47 P.3d at 983-84. Therefore, the recorded evidence that directly contradicted her testimony made it reasonably probable that Davis did not receive a fair trial. Id. at ¶ 22, 47 P.3d at 987. [¶ 20] This case presents a much different situation than Davis. Whereas in Davis, Morris could not effectively be impeached without the suppressed information, in the instant case, CS's credibility was extensively challenged. At the appellant's trial, the district court expressly allowed the defense wide latitude in impeaching CS and testing her veracity because, according to the trial judge, [a]fter the Dysthe [v. State, 2003 WY 20, 63 P.3d 875 (Wyo.2003),] case that the Supreme Court recently decided, I'm pretty nervous about not allowing full inquiry of prosecution witnesses. Any impeachment evidence that could be gleaned from the November 5 interview became known to the jury. CS did not deny her involvement in the distribution and use of narcotics. Specifically, the jury had been told that CS was a worldly young lady who received special deals from methamphetamine dealers because she was able to set the dealers up with other buyers. On direct and cross-examination, CS's past use of methamphetamine, marijuana, and cocaine was explored, as were her previous drug-related arrests and convictions and her difficulty abstaining from narcotics. CS was also questioned about her mental state on the night in question, to which she replied that she had used methamphetamine earlier on October 27 and that night she was, [n]ot really high, but more just coming down. The appellant was also given extensive discovery materials that included statements by CS and another individual tending to show she was heavily involved in using and selling narcotics. Finally, the appellant had CS's testimony from Doherty's trial which detailed CS's drug use and which was also used at the appellant's trial to impeach CS. [¶ 21] We have said that [e]vidence which is `at best cumulative' does not meet the Bagley materiality standard. Relish v. State, 860 P.2d 455, 460 (Wyo.1993) ( quoting United States v. Perkins, 926 F.2d 1271, 1275 (1st Cir.1991)); see also United States v. Trujillo, 136 F.3d 1388, 1394 (10th Cir.1998) (We agree with the district court the undisclosed impeachment evidence was cumulative to Mr. Ladd's testimony on direct and cross-examination, and thus would have provided only marginal additional support for Mr. Trujillo's defense.). While we reaffirm our holding in Davis that impeachment evidence relating to the State's principal witness is usually material, materiality still must be independently analyzed under the Kyles/Bagley formulation and we must ask whether evidentiary suppression `undermines confidence in the outcome of the trial.' Kyles, 514 U.S. at 434, 115 S.Ct. at 1566 ( quoting Bagley, 473 U.S. at 678, 105 S.Ct. at 3381). Where, as in the instant case, a witness for the State has been exhaustively impeached, both generally and as to the specific issue addressed by the suppressed evidence, we do not believe that one additional piece of cumulative information makes the verdict unworthy of confidence. [¶ 22] In two sentences, the appellant also claims for the first time in his reply brief that we must find this interview to be favorable both because if CS was involved in dealing methamphetamine, she would not need to purchase small amounts from the appellant for her personal use, and because it tended to prove that CS was attempting to curry favor with law enforcement by assisting in obtaining [a] conviction[ ] against the appellant. Besides suffering from the fatal flaw of being raised for the first time in the appellant's reply brief, see, for example, Pena v. State, 2004 WY 115, ¶ 44 n. 6, 98 P.3d 857, 874 n. 6 (Wyo.2004) and W.R.A.P. 7.03, these arguments must fail because, again, the impeachment material contained in the November 5 interview was already presented to the jury from other sources and these new arguments could have been made by defense counsel based on the materials already in his possession. We will, therefore, not consider these arguments further.