Opinion ID: 6934950
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: brady v. maryland issues

Text: Nolan and Starrett make several arguments regarding alleged violations of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), but only Starrett’s arguments merit discussion.
Starrett first contends that the government violated Brady by withholding pages from a dues ledger that would have helped establish his withdrawal defense. During its case-in-chief, the government introduced into evidence an Outlaw dues ledger that had several pages torn out. Starrett took the stand in his own defense and testified that he left the Outlaws in October of 1980. During its cross-examination of Starrett, the government used photographs of the missing ledger pages for the limited purpose of impeaching Starrett; those ledger pages reflected that Starrett had paid dues in February of 1981, contrary to his testimony that he had quit the Outlaws in October of 1980. However, Starrett contends that these pages were exculpatory because they also reflected that his name had been crossed out in March of 1981 with the words “out” and “extink” [sic] written next to his crossed out name. Starrett argues that had he been given this evidence prior to his testifying, he would have introduced it in order to help establish that he had withdrawn from the conspiracy and had communicated his withdrawal to his co-conspirators as required by the law of this circuit. Furthermore, Star-rett argues that the evidence was material because if the jury had believed that he was out of the club in March of 1981, his prosecution would have been barred by the statute of limitations. The district court ruled that Starrett could use the ledger pages in any way that he wanted — including interrupting cross-examination to recall any of his defense witnesses — but Starrett made no use of the ledger pages at trial. Starrett contends that introducing the pages to prove he left the club in February or March 1981 after he had already testified that he left the club in 1980 would have done little good, because the evidentiary value of the ledger pages was severely diminished by his inconsistent testimony about when he had left. Under Brady v. Maryland, the prosecution is required to disclose to the defense evidence favorable to the accused if the evidence is material to guilt or punishment. 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963); Routly v. Singletary, 33 F.3d 1279, 1285 (11th Cir.1994). The United States Supreme Court has held that “[i]mpeachment evidence, ... as well as exculpatory evidence, falls within the Brady rule.” United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 676, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 3380, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985). A successful Brady claim requires three elements: (1) the prosecution suppressed evidence, (2) the evidence suppressed was favorable to the defense or exculpatory, and (3) the evidence suppressed was material. Brady, 373 U.S. at 87, 83 S.Ct. at 1196-97; Jacobs v. Singletary, 952 F.2d 1282, 1288 (11th Cir.1992); Delap v. Dugger, 890 F.2d 285, 298 (11th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 496 U.S. 929, 110 S.Ct. 2628, 110 L.Ed.2d 648 (1990). “[F]avorable evidence is material, and constitutional error results from its suppression by the government, if there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different.” Kyles v. Whitley, — U.S. -, -, 115 S.Ct. 1555, 1565, 131 L.Ed.2d 490 (1995) (citation and quotation marks omitted). We find that Starrett has failed to prove that there was a reasonable probability of a different result had the government turned over the ledger prior to Starrett’s testimony. Even if Starrett had been given those pages prior to his testimony, and even if he had never lied on the stand about the date he left the club, the result of this trial would not have been different. The ledger does not establish Starrett’s defense of withdrawal. As previously discussed, whether Starrett was a dues-paying, patch-wearing member of the Outlaws does not determine his culpability under RICO. A former member of the Outlaws, or someone who was never a member of the Outlaws, may be convicted of a RICO conspiracy if he agreed to participate in the Outlaws enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity. Starrett was convicted only of RICO conspiracy. In order to convict him of that crime, the jury was required to find that Starrett agreed to participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of the Outlaw Motorcycle Club through a pattern of racketeering activity. See Gonzalez, 921 F.2d at 1540. Regardless of whether Starrett’s standing with any chapter of the Outlaws was in jeopardy, he could still conspire to violate RICO. The question posed by Starrett’s withdrawal defense is whether he took affirmative acts to disavow or defeat the conspiracy, and whether he communicated those acts to his co-conspirators, or cooperated with the police. Finestone, 816 F.2d at 589. Starrett’s continued participation in the criminal activity which he claimed to have disavowed negates his withdrawal defense. The jury found that the government had proven that Starrett continued to engage in racketeering activity until at least June 17, 1981. From the fact that Starrett had committed a predicate act in June of 1981, the jury was entitled to conclude that he had not withdrawn from the conspiracy as of that date. Under these circumstances, Starrett cannot demonstrate that there is a reasonable probability of a different result had he been given the ledger pages earlier.
Starrett’s second Brady contention involves evidence pertaining to the murder of Susan Bacon. After Starrett’s counsel made an opening statement in which he argued that Starrett had been present at the murder but had not killed Bacon himself, the government provided Starrett with a copy of the transcript from a statement given by Rudolph Lunsford, who had been at Starrett’s party the night Bacon was killed. Lunsford stated that Starrett had stayed home that night and that someone named Sommers had lolled Bacon. Starrett argues that had his counsel known of Lunsford’s statement, he would have employed a different defense strategy, i.e., Starrett would have told a different tale when he testified. Once again, Starrett has failed to prove a reasonable probability of a different result had he been provided with this statement prior to trial. Starrett had already testified in his state trial for the murder of Susan Bacon that he drove Bacon out to the deserted area, and that he was present when she was shot. If Starrett had attempted to change his story in this trial, the government would have impeached him with his prior sworn testimony. Furthermore, the government presented two witnesses who stated that not only was Starrett present during the shooting of Bacon, but he was the one who shot her. There is an even more fundamental flaw in Starrett’s contentions. His contentions presuppose that in judging a Brady claim a court should pretend that the defendant did not testify under oath in the same case in a manner inconsistent with his subsequent materiality argument. In other words, the argument goes, we should wipe the slate clean of any tales previously told, and give the defendant another turn at the game. We reject such a “sporting theory of justice.” Brady, 373 U.S. at 90, 83 S.Ct. at 1198. A trial is not a game of liar’s poker. We judge the materiality of evidence that was not presented against all the evidence that was, including the defendant’s own testimony.