Opinion ID: 203238
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Discovery Claim

Text: All three defendants argue that the government committed a discovery violation by not disclosing the criminal record of the victim and prosecution witness, Tommy Nguyen, until six days before trial. The defendants contend that the delayed disclosure of this evidence warrants a new trial because it limited their ability to impeach Tommy during cross examination. The government learned about Tommy's criminal record six days before trial and faxed a letter to defense counsel the next day informing them of this fact and notifying them that it was obtaining the record. The government faxed the record to defense counsel two days later and notified the defense that the record failed to reflect a potential parole violation by Tommy. On the second day of trial, defense counsel conducted a voir dire of Tommy regarding his criminal record. Defense counsel neither requested a continuance nor moved for a mistrial because of the delay. Prosecutors must provide potentially exculpatory evidence that they are aware of to the defense in a timely fashion. United States v. Sepulveda, 15 F.3d 1161, 1178 (1st Cir.1993). [5] Where a defendant has properly preserved a discovery claim, we review the district court's handling of a delayed disclosure for abuse of discretion. United States v. Casas, 425 F.3d 23, 43 (1st Cir.2005). [6] Because the defendants failed to ask for a continuance, we seriously doubt they have preserved their delayed discovery claim. [7] In any event, the district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the trial to proceed despite the delayed disclosure. In delayed disclosure cases, we need not address whether the evidence was material unless the defendant can demonstrate that the delay prevented defense counsel from using the disclosed material effectively in preparing and presenting the defendant's case. Smith, 292 F.3d at 102. The defendant must at a minimum make a `prima facie' showing of a plausible strategic option which the delay foreclosed. Id. at 104. The defendants have made no such showing here and it is evident the delay did not hamper their use of Tommy's criminal record. First, the defendants' failure to request a continuance, besides raising the spectre of waiver, causes us to entertain their discovery claim with a significant amount of skepticism. See United States v. Osorio, 929 F.2d 753, 758 (1st Cir.1991) ([W]e have viewed the failure to ask for a continuance as an indication that defense counsel was himself satisfied he had sufficient opportunity to use the evidence advantageously.). But even had the defendants been operating on a clean slate, our conclusion would be the same given that the record reflects ample use of the disclosed evidence. Defense counsel cross-examined Tommy regarding his criminal record, getting him to admit that he had Georgia convictions for breaking and entering and driving without insurance. See United States v. Ingraldi, 793 F.2d 408, 412 (1st Cir.1986) (noting that the impact of the delayed disclosure on defense counsel's cross examination turns in part on the extent the defendant actually managed to use [the disclosed material] despite the delay). It is not surprising that defense counsel effectively used this evidence, having had three days to determine how to best put it to use. See Sepulveda, 15 F.3d at 1179 (noting that delayed disclosure did not prevent defendant from effectively preparing and presenting case where defense counsel received evidence while witness was testifying and effectively incorporated its contents into the cross-examination). Notwithstanding the cross-examination of Tommy about his criminal record, defendants insist that the delay was prejudicial. Van and Cao say there are two potential sources of additional impeachment material that were buried within the disclosed material. First, an investigation of Tommy's social security number gave rise to an inference that more than one person was improperly using the number. Second, Tommy had different dates of birth attributed to him within the various disclosed court documents. The defendants suggest that, given these discrepancies, had the government disclosed Tommy's criminal records earlier they could have either uncovered other crimes Tommy committed or more vigorously pressed him regarding potential dishonesty with government officials about his birth date. The defendants' speculative arguments about potential additional uses of the disclosed material are unavailing. The defense conducted voir dire of Tommy about his social security number, his birth date and his criminal record. If they believed their inquiry raised red flags, they easily could have requested a continuance in order to conduct additional investigation. They failed to do so. This reflects not only their own satisfaction with their use of the disclosed material in their cross-examination of Tommy but also a conscious decision to forgo a strategic option.