Opinion ID: 300883
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: denial of pretrial discovery

Text: 12 Four days prior to the trial, Cole moved for an order under Rule 16(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure requiring the Government to permit the defendant to: 13 1. Inspect and copy or photograph any and all photographs, documents, notes, and related materials utilized by the United States in various identification and line-up procedures focused upon the defendant and to furnish the names of all witnesses viewing line-ups and photographs from the date of the alleged offense to and including the date of the filing of this motion. 14 2. Inspect and copy or photograph the statements of any witnesses the Government does not propose to call. 15 3. Inspect and copy or photograph the statements of all co-defendants and co-conspirators charged in the Indictment. 16 This motion was apparently overruled the first day of the trial. The motion was timely filed inasmuch as counsel for Cole had been notified of his appointment only three days prior to filing the motion. 17 The law of this Circuit is well established that [a]n application for relief under the discovery rules . . . is a matter within the sound discretion of the district court and is reviewable only for an abuse of discretion. Hemphill v. United States, 392 F.2d 45, 48 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 393 U.S. 877, 89 S.Ct. 176, 21 L.Ed.2d 149 (1968) and quoted in United States v. Hamilton, 452 F.2d 472 (8th Cir. 1971); and an error in administering the discovery rules is not reversible absent a showing that the error was prejudicial to the substantial rights of the defendant. Meyer v. United States, 396 F.2d 279, 283 (8th Cir. 1968), cert. denied sub nom Dugger v. United States, 393 U.S. 1017, 89 S.Ct. 621, 21 L.Ed.2d 561; Hansen v. United States, 393 F.2d 763, 770 (8th Cir. 1968), and Hemphill v. United States, supra, Accord, United States v. Saitta, 443 F.2d 830, 831 (5th Cir. 1971) (appeal pending). 18 Cole claims that he needed to inspect and copy or photograph the photos and other materials used in the lineup procedures to show that the three boys had viewed Cole in a lineup and had not identified him. However, this was brought out fully at the trial. Two of the three boys identified Cole in the courtroom and said they hadn't identified him in the lineup because they didn't want to. The third boy identified Cole from a picture but indicated in court that Cole did not look like this picture and refused to positively identify him in court. Cole simply does not show how the denial of the lineup photos and other materials resulted in any prejudice to his defense. Their production could have produced no greater revelation than that which occurred at trial. 19 As to Cole's request concerning the names of all witnesses viewing lineups and photographs, it is well established that the Government is not required in non-capital cases to furnish the names of its witnesses. United States v. Cole, 449 F.2d 194, 198 (8th Cir. 1971); United States v. Harflinger, 436 F.2d 928, 936 (8th Cir. 1970), cert. denied, 402 U.S. 973, 91 S.Ct. 1660, 29 L.Ed.2d 137 (1971); Spinelli v. United States, 382 F.2d 871, 889 (8th Cir. 1967), rev'd on other grounds, 393 U.S. 410, 89 S.Ct. 584, 21 L.Ed.2d 637; Ray v. United States, 367 F.2d 258, 263 n.5 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 386 U.S. 913, 87 S.Ct. 863, 17 L.Ed.2d 785 (1966); Dean v. United States, 265 F.2d 544, 547 (8th Cir. 1959). 20 The request for the statements of any witnesses the government does not propose to call was recently dealt with by this Court in United States v. Hamilton, supra: 21 The request for statements of witnesses not to be called at trial is merely another way of determining whether the co-conspirators named in the indictment would be witnesses at the trial, but the identity of witnesses is information 'the government is not normally required to supply . . . to the criminal defendant.' Spinelli v. United States, 382 F.2d 871, 889 (8th Cir. 1967), rev'd on other grounds, 393 U.S. 410, 89 S.Ct. 584, 21 L.Ed.2d 637 (1968). 22 Cole's request for statements of all . . . co-conspirators charged in the Indictment, who were also Government witnesses, was made under Rule 16(b). Rule 16(b) provides in pertinent part: [T]his rule does not authorize the discovery or inspection of reports, memoranda, or other internal government documents made by government agents in connection with the investigation or prosecution of the case, or of statements made by government witnesses . . . to agents of the government except as provided in 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3500. 1 23 It should be noted that counsel for Cole also filed (on the same date) a motion for a bill of particulars. In response to that motion, the Government provided Cole's counsel with the names of the co-conspirators, the addresses of those known to the Government (except the addresses of the three boys), and the identification of the stolen auto and of the guns. The Government did not furnish the addresses of the three boys because of the possibility of threats to them as witnesses. Statements of the Government's witnesses were given to counsel for Cole after each witness had testified. This practice is in full accord with the established rule in this Circuit. See United States v. Cole, supra, 449 F.2d at 198, and cases cited therein. Cole relies on Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963) but that case dealt with failure of the prosecution to disclose exculpatory information at the trial-not prior thereto. 24 Under these circumstances, the trial court's denial of the pretrial discovery motion was not an abuse of discretion, especially since Cole has not demonstrated any resulting prejudice to his defense.