Opinion ID: 774782
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Devereaux's Supplemental Brief

Text: 31 When we granted rehearing en banc, we ordered supplemental briefing from the parties. As a general matter, [w]e review only issues which are argued specifically and distinctly in a party's opening brief, Greenwood v. FAA, 28 F.3d 971, 977 (9th Cir. 1994), and an issue will therefore be deemed waived if it is raised for the first time in a supplemental brief, Kreisner v. City of San Diego, 1 F.3d 775, 778 n.2 (9th Cir. 1993). Despite these well-established principles and the fact that Devereaux's opening brief did not contain any meritorious arguments for reversal, we briefly address the arguments in his supplemental brief. 32 In his supplemental brief, Devereaux sensibly adopts the deliberate-fabrication-of-evidence argument that was so forcefully developed by Judge Kleinfeld in his dissent from the panel majority's opinion. See Devereaux I , 218 F.3d at 1057-63 (Kleinfeld, J., dissenting). Nonetheless, Devereaux still fails to allege any facts or point to any evidence in the record that supports the argument. 33 For example, Devereaux points out that Carrow was involved in the parade of homes, an incident in which one of Devereaux's foster children was driven around Wenatchee and asked to point out the locations at which abuse had occurred. But driving a child around the community and asking where the crimes that the child allegedly witnessed took place is surely not such a coercive and abusive technique that Carrow should have known it would lead to false information. Devereaux points out that Carrow ignored another child's denials that Devereaux was abusing his foster children, but, again, interviewers of child witnesses of suspected sexual abuse surely must be given some latitude in determining when to credit witnesses' denials and when to discount them -the mere fact that an interviewer did not immediately believe such a denial cannot suffice to show that the interviewer violated the Constitution by using techniques that the interviewer knew or should have known would yield false information. 34 Devereaux also accuses Carrow of withholding exculpatory evidence, but (1) he does not argue that the requirements of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), apply to social workers at the investigative and charging stages, and (2) in any event, a Brady violation cannot in itself support a deliberatefabrication-of-evidence claim -if it did, then any prisoner with a successful Brady claim would be able to bring a §§ 1983 action against the prosecutor for deliberate fabrication of evidence, and would be able to get past summary judgment. The other accusations against Carrow are even less substantial than these. 35 Devereaux's only accusation regarding Wood is her participation in the tell the truth interview of A.S., which we have already addressed. 36 Devereaux points out that Alexander participated in the parade of homes as well, that she withheld exculpatory information, and that she used Linda Miller's confession in questioning Miller's daughter. None of this shows, however, that Alexander knew or should have known that Devereaux was innocent, and none of it amounts to the use of investigative techniques that were so coercive and abusive that Alexander knew or should have known that they would yield false information. 37 The only accusation that Devereaux levels against Abbey is that he participated in Perez's interview of D.E. after D.E. had been in Perez's foster care for six months. Without more, that does not show that Abbey knew or should have known that Devereaux was innocent, or that he used techniques that he knew or should have known would yield false information. 38 Again, Devereaux has not alleged that Defendants knew or should have known that he was innocent, or that their investigative techniques were so coercive and abusive that they knew or should have known that the techniques would yield false information. He has therefore failed, even in his supplemental brief, to support a claim that Defendants deliberately fabricated evidence to be used against him.