Opinion ID: 537726
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Prosecutorial Misconduct Theory

Text: 100 Despite the nearly universal rejection of the effective defense theory, courts have held that the due process clause does constrain the prosecutor to a certain extent in her decision to grant or not to grant immunity. If a prosecutor abuses her discretion by intentionally attempting to distort the fact-finding process, then a due process violation exists and a court may order the prosecutor to grant immunity or face a judgment of acquittal. See United States v. Hooks, 848 F.2d 785, 799 (7th Cir.1988). 101 Such intentional distortion could occur in two ways. First, the government could intimidate or harass potential defense witnesses to discourage them from testifying--for example, by threatening them with prosecution for perjury or other offenses. Where such intimidation tactics cause a potential witness to invoke the fifth amendment and withhold testimony that otherwise would have been available to the defendant, a court may order the prosecutor to grant immunity to the witness or face a judgment of acquittal. See, e.g., United States v. Pinto, 850 F.2d 927, 932 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 109 S.Ct. 174, 102 L.Ed.2d 143 (1988); Hooks, 848 F.2d at 799; United States v. Lord, 711 F.2d 887, 891 (9th Cir.1983); United States v. Morrison, 535 F.2d 223, 229 (3d Cir.1976). Cf. Webb v. Texas, 409 U.S. 95, 98, 93 S.Ct. 351, 353, 34 L.Ed.2d 330 (1972) (holding that a judge's lengthy perjury warnings to a defense witness effectively drove the witness off the stand, thereby denying the defendant his due process right to present his defense). Second, the government could intentionally distort the fact-finding process by deliberately withholding immunity from certain prospective defense witnesses for the purpose of keeping exculpatory evidence from the jury. See Hooks, 848 F.2d at 802; Government of the Virgin Islands v. Smith, 615 F.2d at 968; see also Pennell, 737 F.2d at 526; United States v. Burns, 684 F.2d 1066, 1077 (2d Cir.1982), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1174, 103 S.Ct. 823, 74 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1983). 102 We find that the defendants have failed to make an adequate showing of either type of prosecutorial misconduct. With respect to their claims of governmental intimidation, the defendants have pointed to four instances of alleged prosecutorial misconduct: (1) the government's informing the court that it thought Palladino would lie if he testified; (2) the government's transmission of pertinent information on Palladino to the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Criminal Division; (3) the government's recital to the court of the criminal activities of which Palladino was suspected; and (4) the notification given to Palladino by the Internal Revenue Service that he was under investigation for possible tax violations. 103 None of this conduct is sufficient to warrant a finding of witness intimidation by the prosecution. The government arguably was justified in telling the court it thought Palladino would lie and in detailing his suspected criminal activities to explain its reasons for not granting him immunity. In addition, it is difficult to see how these communications could be deemed an intimidation of the witness when they were made to the court. Neither can we fault the prosecution's transmission of information to the IRS. The defendants have not shown that it is anything but a routine practice for one investigatory arm of government to forward information to other arms that also have an interest in the information. Finally, we cannot hold the prosecution liable for the actions of the IRS in choosing to notify Palladino that he was under investigation for suspected tax violations. There has been no indication whatsoever that the prosecution suggested to the IRS that it contact Palladino, or that the prosecution even knew of the contact in advance. 104 Furthermore, the conduct complained of by defendants here falls far short of the type of prosecutorial conduct condemned by other courts as witness intimidation. For example, in United States v. Morrison, 535 F.2d 223, the prosecutor on at least three occasions had sent messages to a prospective defense witness warning her that she was liable to prosecution on drug charges; that if she testified, the testimony could be used as evidence against her; and that if she lied, federal perjury charges could be brought. The prosecutor then subpoenaed the witness to his office and again warned her, in the presence of three law enforcement officers, of the risks of testifying. After these warnings, the witness took the stand and repeatedly invoked her privilege against self-incrimination. See id. at 225-26; see also Lord, 711 F.2d at 891-92. The defendants here have not pointed to any prosecutor-witness communication that even remotely approaches the conduct involved in Morrison. Indeed, the defendants have not pointed to any direct communication between the prosecution and Palladino at all. Nor have the defendants established the requisite causal nexus between the government's conduct and Palladino's decision not to testify. See United States v. Hoffman, 832 F.2d 1299, 1303-05 (1st Cir.1987). Given these circumstances, we find that defendants have failed to make a showing of governmental intimidation. 105 We also find no indication that the prosecution intentionally distorted the fact-finding process by deliberately withholding immunity from Palladino for the purpose of keeping his exculpatory testimony from the jury. The government gave several reasons for its objection to the immunization of Palladino, including its desire not to hinder possible state and federal prosecutions of Palladino for his suspected involvement in other criminal activities. These reasons clearly show that the government's conduct was motivated by something other than the sole desire to keep Palladino's exculpatory testimony from the jury. Accordingly, we reject defendants' prosecutorial misconduct theory, and find no error in the government's failure to offer immunity to Joseph Palladino.