Opinion ID: 1936773
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Negative Fingerprint Report

Text: The State neglected to turn over a police fingerprint analysis to Harnish until after the trial, an admitted discovery violation. The analysis involved 29 items seized from Desjardins's house. None of them revealed any of Harnish's fingerprints. The report was prepared by a detective before the trial, but due to a vacation was not typed up and made available to the prosecution until after the trial. It thus did not reach Harnish's lawyer. The trial court denied Harnish's motion for a new trial. As Harnish recognizes, the imposition of sanctions for a breach of M.R.Crim.P. 16 is committed to the discretion of the trial court. State v. Reeves, 499 A.2d 130, 133 (Me.1985). We find no abuse of discretion in the court's refusal to grant a new trial here. During the trial, Harnish's lawyer asked a detective on the stand how many items were seized and sent for fingerprint analysis. Then, in his closing argument, he pointed out to the jury that the State had not provided any fingerprint evidence resulting from the analysis. At the hearing on the motion for a new trial, Harnish's trial lawyer testified that the negative fingerprint report would not have helped the defense, because the fingerprints were not taken from items in areas where Donald Coffin had placed Ronald Harnish during the events in the house. [1] Thus, the discovery violation was not so prejudicial that the trial court was required to grant a new trial. State v. Landry, 459 A.2d 175, 177 (Me.1983). Likewise, we find no violation of Harnish's due process rights under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), because we conclude that the report was not material: The evidence is material only if there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 682, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 3383, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985). The absence of Harnish's fingerprints on these five items simply does not rise to that level.