Opinion ID: 1196411
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: SWP Request

Text: The Inspectors argue that they are entitled to qualified immunity with respect to the claim regarding the SWP request. They argue that the evidence is undisputed that no reward was ever offered or paid to any witness. They further argue that, even if the SWP request was exculpatory, they disclosed the request by placing it in their file, which was available to Butterworth. Finally, they contend that, even if the Plaintiffs had been aware of the request, it would not have affected the outcome of the case. There is no merit to the Inspectors' argument that the evidence regarding a reward is undisputed. One need look only at the differing declarations put forth by the parties' respective experts regarding the tape of the April 23, 1990, telephone call from Hendrix to Masina. The district court correctly concluded that disputed issues of fact precluded the grant of summary judgment. See Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304, 313, 115 S.Ct. 2151, 132 L.Ed.2d 238 (1995) (holding that a district court's determination that the summary judgment record ... raised a genuine issue of fact was not subject to interlocutory appeal on qualified immunity grounds); KRL v. Estate of Moore, 512 F.3d 1184, 1188-89 (9th Cir.2008) (Our jurisdiction is limited to questions of law, and does not extend to qualified immunity claims involving disputed issues of fact.). The Inspectors' placement of the request in their file does not satisfy their obligation to disclose evidence to Butterworth. Masina was their key witness, so any evidence of a reward paid to her should have been made known to the prosecutor. In fact, in a June 16, 2005, deposition, Officer Morris Tabak testified that the SFPD is required to turn over all information relevant to a case to the district attorney's office, whose duty it is to then determine whether to disclose the information to defense counsel. If Masina had indeed been offered a reward for her testimony against Tennison and Goff, Plaintiffs should have been made aware of this fact. We accordingly reject the Inspectors' argument that it would have had no effect on the outcome of the case. The offer of a reward to a key witness is material impeachment evidence that should have been disclosed. See Barker, 423 F.3d at 1095 (citing Bagley, 473 U.S. at 683, 105 S.Ct. 3375, for the proposition that evidence that a witness received an inducement from the prosecution to testify is evidence favorable to the accused); Benn, 283 F.3d at 1057 (The Brady rule requires prosecutors to disclose any benefits that are given to a government informant. ...); cf. Reynoso v. Giurbino, 462 F.3d 1099, 1112-13 (9th Cir. 2006) (concluding that trial counsel's failure to investigate a reward offered to witnesses rendered her performance deficient and cannot under any theory be deemed a sound trial strategy). The district court's denial of the Inspectors' motion for summary judgment with respect to the SWP request is affirmed.