Opinion ID: 77318
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Post-Trial Discovery

Text: 68 Norneilla-Morales argues that the district court abused its discretion when it denied the appellants' motion for post-trial discovery involving the flight steward Garcia's decision to remain in the United States after the government learned of Garcia's defection. He claims that the fruits of such an inquiry might have supported a motion for a new trial based upon either perjured information or the government's failure to disclose exculpatory evidence as required by Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). He maintains that at the very least, the court was required to hold an evidentiary hearing, order the release of Garcia's asylum application or to conduct an in camera review of such materials. 69 The record demonstrates the following. The trial ended on December 11, 2003. On December 19, 2003, the government informed the defendants that the prosecutors had just learned of Garcia's decision not to return to Cuba. The defendants filed motions to require the government to provide them with Garcia's contact information or to produce him for interview. On March 4, 2004, the court denied the defendants' motions, finding that they had not contended that the government had obtained exculpatory information from Garcia, but ordered the government to inquire whether Garcia wished to change his testimony or be interviewed by the defendants. 70 On March 11, 2004, the government responded that Garcia has stated he did not wish to change his testimony nor be interviewed by the defendants. The following week, Guerra-Morales filed a motion demanding interview reports pertaining to Garcia, or at a minimum, for an in camera review of asylum application documents, asserting that they constituted exculpatory evidence under Brady. The court denied the motion for production, holding that the defendants' vigorous cross-examination of Garcia at trial meant that any information surrounding Garcia's defection would not make his testimony any less believable and would not constitute grounds for changing the verdict or ordering a new trial. 71 The rule regarding exculpatory evidence announced in Brady applies after trial when it is discovered that the prosecution had material information of which the defense was unaware. United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 103, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976). In United States v. Quinn, 123 F.3d 1415 (11th Cir.1997), we held that the government was not required to disclose the contents of personnel files or submit them for in camera review simply based on the defendant's unsupported contention that they might contain information of significance to his case. Id. at 1421-22. We declined to order discovery based upon mere speculation as to whether the material would contain exculpatory evidence because to do so would convert Brady into a discovery device and impose an undue burden upon the district court. Id. at 1422 (quotation marks and citation omitted). 72 This case is unlike those cited by the defendants in which a witness perjures himself at trial and the defense discovers exculpatory evidence to that effect after trial. See, e.g., United States v. Espinosa-Hernandez, 918 F.2d 911 (11th Cir.1990). The defendants here made no showing that Garcia perjured himself at trial, during his pre-trial deposition, or at any other point. Instead, they merely speculate that his asylum application might show that he lied at trial, not because he was trying to curry favor with the Cuban government, as they alleged at trial, but under their new theory that he was trying to curry favor with the United States government. However, Garcia's testimony at trial—that he was tied up at knife-point by the defendants— was corroborated by multiple witnesses at trial. Accordingly, we conclude that the district court did not commit reversible error in denying defendants' request for post-trial discovery as to Garcia's immigration status.