Opinion ID: 1383224
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The FBI materials

Text: Ferguson next claims that the motion court clearly erred in denying a new trial or other post-conviction relief based on his claim that the state failed to disclose exculpatory evidence pertaining to the FBI crime lab, including the FBI's entire file on the case, and any and all information about the serology, DNA, and hair and fiber units of the FBI lab. In addition, Ferguson makes the related claims that the motion court erred 1) in denying several motions to disclose a wide range of material that he asserted was pertinent to the Brady violation and 2) in denying his motion for new trial based on the FBI's failure to follow the motion court's order that Dr. Libby be allowed to inspect its original DNA case file. These claims fail for the same reasons the surveillance video claim failsthe Brady violation was not properly pled in the Rule 29.15 motion and discovery requests relating to the alleged Brady violations were thus foreclosed. Assuming Ferguson had properly pled the Brady claim, he has not demonstrated that any of the FBI material would be exculpatory or prejudicial. Before trial he was provided with extensive information regarding the FBI tests and procedures, and he used the information to thoroughly challenge the FBI evidence at trial, as demonstrated, for example, by the 54 pages of transcript of his cross-examination of the state's DNA expert. Ferguson does not clearly identify what he hopes additional FBI materials would show, and it appears that these materials, if any, could only be used to counter the FBI evidence in basically the same way that he countered that evidence at trial. Furthermore, it is worth noting that during the post-conviction proceedings Ferguson was able to obtain through the Freedom of Information Act at least 1,779 pages of FBI materials that have still not revealed any more exculpatory information than what he had before. In denying relief, this Court is fully aware of Ferguson's allegation and request for discovery regarding FBI Agent Malone, who testified about the hair and fiber samples, and who has apparently been exposed for falsifying testimony in other cases. However, there is no evidence that Agent Malone acted improperly in this case, and it cannot fairly be said that the hair and fiber evidence had a prejudicial impact on the trial.