Opinion ID: 77758
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Slocum Tape

Text: 26 In the first round of state postconviction proceedings, Jennings claimed that a taped statement by Judy Slocum was withheld from him during his trial in violation of Brady. In her statement, Slocum told police that she drove Jennings from the bar to his home on the night of the murder so that he could change his pants and then drove him back to the bar. Slocum offered to drive Jennings because she recognized that he knew he had too much to drink and could not drive himself. She also said that when she left the bar at 2:30 a.m., Jennings was very much loaded. Jennings IV, 583 So.2d at 318. The Florida Supreme Court concluded that the tape did not satisfy the test for materiality because Jennings's failure to call several other witnesses who could testify about his intoxication showed that he never intended to pursue a defense of intoxication. Id. at 318-19. 27 Jennings contends that the Florida Supreme Court, in reviewing his Brady claim on the Slocum tape, failed to consider the effect of the tape on the penalty phase of the trial as evidence of mitigation. Jennings points out that the United States Supreme Court in Brady held that suppressed evidence violates the constitutional rights of criminal defendants whether the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment. Brady, 373 U.S. at 87, 83 S.Ct. at 1196-97 (emphasis added). Thus, failure to consider the taped statement's effect on the punishment imposed could be an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law. Jennings contends that the Slocum tape would have made a difference in his sentence because it provided graphic evidence of Jennings's substantial impairment resulting from his drinking. In support, he cites the testimony of the State's mental health expert who testified hypothetically that Jennings could have been rendered substantially impaired from the consumption of drugs and alcohol (although the expert declined to find that Jennings was actually impaired). 28 Although the Florida Supreme Court focused on the effect that Slocum's statement would have had on the guilt phase of the trial, there is no question that the court also considered its effect on the penalty phase as well. The court said so explicitly. At the outset of its discussion, the court observed, Jennings argues that Slocum's testimony would have been material to both the guilt and penalty phases of the trial. Jennings IV, 583 So.2d at 318 (emphasis added). Quoting the trial court, the state supreme court understood that [t]rial defense counsel now avers that had he known of the contents of the tape he would have used Slocum both in the guilt phase to bolster his defense of intoxication and during the penalty phase to add to his proof of the defendant's intoxication as a mitigating factor. Id. (emphasis added). A fair reading of the Florida Supreme Court's opinion shows that its assessment of the statement's materiality encompassed the penalty phase of Jennings's trial. 29 Moreover, it is clear that the Slocum tape was not suppressed for purposes of the Brady analysis. As the Florida Supreme Court found, Jennings 30 had knowledge not only of Slocum's name but also the subject matter of her knowledge about the case. Not only was Jennings aware of her participation in the evening's events, defense was aware of the statement of Russell Schneider that Judy Slocum drove Bryan to his mother's house at about 11:30-12:00 p.m. to change his pants because his zipper was broken and that Jennings had been drinking large amounts of beer. Defense was also aware of the statement of Charles [Patrick] Clawson that Jennings had a girl drive him over to his mother's house about 10:00-11:00 p.m. because he felt he was unable to drive . . . . The Slocum statement merely confirmed the Schneider and Clawson statements. 31 Id. at 318. 32 Jennings criticizes this reasoning because, as the Florida Supreme Court itself noted, the State concede[d] that [it] violated the discovery rules by failing to disclose and produce the taped statement of Judy Slocum. Id. So, according to Jennings, the fact that he knew about the contents of Slocum's statement from other sources is irrelevant. But a violation of the discovery rules does not ipso facto amount to suppression that can support a Brady claim for a new trial or resentencing. In United States v. Griggs, 713 F.2d 672 (11th Cir.1983) (per curiam), we adopted the rule that, [w]here defendants, prior to trial, had within their knowledge the information by which they could have ascertained the alleged Brady material, there is no suppression by the government. Id. at 674. In Griggs, a mail fraud case, we refused to recognize a Brady claim where the defendant had full knowledge of the witness who he alleged gave an exculpatory statement to the prosecution, even though the defense had made a specific request for such statements. Id. We noted that, while the better course would be for prosecutors to hand over such evidence, a new trial was not warranted for failure to do so. Id. 33 Jennings was plainly aware of Slocum and thus had within his knowledge information by which he could have ascertained her statement. Slocum drove Jennings home on the night of the murder, and another witness, Schneider, testified to that fact. Also, as the Florida Supreme Court reasoned, Jennings not only had knowledge of Slocum as a potential witness, he clearly was aware of the import and tenor of the Slocum tape from other sources, including the pretrial statements of Schneider and Clawson. Jennings IV, 583 So.2d at 318. And, of course, nothing prevented Jennings himself from talking to Slocum. Thus, there was no suppression of the tape. 8 As a result, Jennings cannot show that the state court's rejection of his Brady claim based on Slocum's taped statement was contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law. 34