Opinion ID: 776532
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Refusal to Immunize Del Rosario and Brady Violation

Text: 140 Appellants Perez and Batoon claim that the District Court erroneously refused to immunize Del Rosario so that he could testify as a defense witness at trial. Based on the same set of facts, Perez and Batoon also claim that the Government failed to reveal exculpatory evidence to the defense with respect to Del Rosario's statements to investigators, thereby warranting a new trial. We review the District Court's refusal to immunize Del Rosario for abuse of discretion. United States v. Herman, 589 F.2d 1191, 1213-14 (3d Cir.1978). The District Court's factual findings regarding the likely effect of undisclosed information are reviewed only for clear error. United States v. Pelullo, 173 F.3d 131, 135 (3d Cir.1999). 141 Immediately following his arrest and after waiving his Miranda rights, Del Rosario told investigators that Perez had smuggled multiple kilograms of methamphetamine into the United States from the Philippines and delivered them to Del Rosario. Months later, Del Rosario changed his story and told investigators that Zoletta, not Perez, had delivered the drugs to Del Rosario. Perez sought to present Del Rosario as a defense witness and question him about the second statement. The District Court had Del Rosario and his attorney appear before it to determine if he would testify. Del Rosario, outside the presence of the jury, asserted his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and refused to answer any questions. Perez then asked the District Court to confer immunity on Del Rosario so that he could be compelled to testify as a defense witness, in the hope that he would testify in accordance with his second statement and exculpate Perez. The Government opposed the request. 142 We have prescribed a five-factor analysis when assessing a request to grant judicial use immunity 18 to a witness who refuses to testify: (1) the immunity is properly sought in the District Court; (2) the witness is available to testify; (3) the proffered testimony is clearly exculpatory; (4) the proffered testimony is essential to the defense; and (5) there is no strong governmental interest against the immunity. See United States v. Cohen, 171 F.3d 796, 802 (3d Cir.1999); Government of Virgin Islands v. Smith, 615 F.2d 964 (3d Cir.1980). The District Court concluded that, because any exculpatory testimony that Del Rosario might offer on behalf of Perez would be severely impeached by his prior inculpatory statement against her, Perez could not establish that the proffered testimony was clearly exculpatory or essential to her defense. 143 A similar analysis applies to the alleged Brady violation. Under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused warrants a new trial where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution. Id. at 87, 83 S.Ct. 1194. Evidence is material if there is a reasonable probability that, had it been disclosed, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Strickler v. Greene, 527 U.S. 263, 281, 119 S.Ct. 1936, 144 L.Ed.2d 286 (1999); see also Hollman v. Wilson, 158 F.3d 177, 181 (3d Cir.1998) (evidence is material if it could reasonably be taken to put the whole case in such a different light as to undermine confidence in the verdict); United States v. Perdomo, 929 F.2d 967, 972 (3d Cir.1991) (evidence is favorable if it may make a difference between conviction and acquittal). 144 Perez and Batoon argued below that the prosecution violated Brady by failing to disclose a statement by Del Rosario that Zoletta, not Perez, had delivered the drugs to Del Rosario. The District Court concluded that the Government had violated a duty under Brady to disclose the identity of Zoletta as a potential alternative source for the drugs to the defense for two reasons: first, because the evidence was substantially exculpatory, and second, because it was untimely offered after the immunity hearing. However, the District Court concluded that a new trial was not warranted because there was no reasonable probability that the result of the proceeding would have been different if Del Rosario's statement had been disclosed. 19 In other words, the allegedly exculpatory evidence was neither essential to the defense under the immunity test nor material under the Brady test. 145 On appeal, Perez and Batoon offer a litany of reasons why the District Court should have granted a new trial. First, Perez argues that the suppressed evidence was material because the defense was prevented from using Del Rosario's statement to contradict the prosecution's theory of the case. She contends that Del Rosario's statement that Zoletta had delivered drugs to his apartment on the night before the raid would have been credible because (1) it was corroborated by Zoletta's own admission before the jury, and (2) he had nothing to gain by contradicting the prosecution's theory of the case at a time when he had hopes for entering into a cooperating plea agreement. However, the District Court addressed this argument and concluded that Del Rosario's testimony, even if credible, would not have made a difference in the trial because, while it may come in to impeach Zoletta, it could not come in for substantive consideration by the jury because it was inadmissible hearsay — an out-of-court statement by Zoletta offered by Perez to prove the truth of the matter asserted. 146 This position is supported in cases cited by the Government. See Bradley v. Nagle, 212 F.3d 559, 567 (11th Cir.2000) (finding undisclosed evidence was not material where [e]ach item of evidence was in fact inadmissible at trial and the defendant presents only speculation that he would have uncovered any admissible evidence from these three hearsay leads); United States v. Derrick, 163 F.3d 799, 818 (4th Cir.1998) (concluding that undisclosed statements by legislators to FBI agents were not material in prosecution of legislators for campaign finance violations in part because they were inadmissible hearsay); see also Wood v. Bartholomew, 516 U.S. 1, 5, 116 S.Ct. 7, 133 L.Ed.2d 1 (1995) ( per curiam ) (finding failure to disclose that witness had failed polygraph test did not deprive respondent of material evidence because polygraph results would have been inadmissible at trial, even for impeachment purposes). 147 The Government responds that the value of Del Rosario's later statement inculpating Zoletta (and thereby exculpating Perez) would have been undercut by the fact that Del Rosario's initial statement regarding Perez was fully and powerfully corroborated by Perez's passport and travel itinerary as well as the testimony of Uy and Almiranez. Del Rosario's statement is therefore neither essential to Perez's defense nor material evidence warranting a new trial. We agree. See United States v. Messerlian, 832 F.2d 778, 795 (3d Cir. 1987) (finding no Brady violation for failure to disclose exculpatory evidence that was not credible); see also Buehl v. Vaughn, 166 F.3d 163, 181 (3d Cir.1999) (holding undisclosed statement that someone other than the defendant possessed the murder weapon three weeks after the murder was not material exculpatory evidence [i]n light of this overwhelming evidence that Buehl had the [murder weapon] at the time of the killings and that he was the murderer); Landano v. Rafferty, 856 F.2d 569, 572 (3d Cir.1988) (concluding that evidence tending to exculpate defendant, Landano, in robbery and murder was not material because any such inference would have been directly at odds with other, stronger evidence implicating Landano in the crime). 148 Perez and Batoon also argue that the suppressed evidence was material because the defense was prevented from cross-examining Zoletta more vigorously to develop further evidence exculpating Perez. The District Court concluded that heightened cross-examination of Zoletta that might have occurred if the defense had known of Del Rosario's statement would not have induced Zoletta to admit before the jury that he had been the one to deliver the drugs to Del Rosario's apartment. 149 Perez and Batoon further argue that the suppressed evidence was material because it might have persuaded the District Court to grant Del Rosario immunity so that he could testify for the defense at trial. The District Court, reconsidering its denial of immunity for Zoletta on defendants' motions for a new trial, conceded that had the identity of Mr. Zoletta as a potential specific alternative source of the drugs been revealed prior to that immunity hearing his name would certainly have been mentioned and the court would have been asked to evaluate [Del Rosario's] immunity request in that light. However, the District Court ultimately concluded that its ruling on use immunity would not have changed even if the Government had properly disclosed Del Rosario's statement implicating Zoletta rather than Perez. The Court explained that Del Rosario's statement would not have been clearly exculpatory testimony warranting a grant of immunity because its value would have been undercut by Del Rosario's prior inconsistent statement implicating Perez. 150 In this light, the District Court properly came to the conclusion that a retrial was not warranted because there was no reasonable probability that the suppressed evidence would have changed the outcome of the original proceeding. The District Court was best situated to observe Zoletta's demeanor and attitude at trial. See Messerlian, 832 F.2d at 795 (concluding that, when considering whether witness's testimony is exculpatory evidence for purposes of possible Brady violation, the District Court was best situated to observe the demeanor of the two witnesses and to assess the consistency of their testimony). 151 In addition, we find no merit to Perez and Batoon's arguments that they were prejudiced at sentencing by the suppressed statement. It had been disclosed by the time of sentencing, and the defense lawyer conceded at the sentencing hearing that he did not have grounds to dispute the Probation Office's calculation of the applicable drug amount based upon the defendants' participation in the conspiracy. 152 With respect to Del Rosario's testimony, we conclude that the District Court did not abuse its discretion when it declined to immunize Del Rosario. In light of the evidence, we find reasonable the District Court's determination that the disclosure of Del Rosario's statement implicating Zoletta would not have changed the decision to deny Del Rosario use immunity. See United States v. Steele, 685 F.2d 793-808 (3d Cir.1982) (judicial immunity properly denied where proposed immunized testimony would not have been clearly exculpatory); United States v. Lowell, 649 F.2d 950, 965 (3d Cir.1981) (same); see also United States v. Ammar, 714 F.2d 238, 251 n. 8 (3d Cir.1983) (judicial immunity properly denied where the exculpatory nature of [the] testimony is at best speculative).