Opinion ID: 2547047
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: brady and giglio

Text: Hunter asserts that the circuit court erred in denying an evidentiary hearing on his claim that the State withheld favorable evidence in violation of Brady and presented misleading evidence in violation of Giglio. Specifically, Hunter claims that the State threatened witness Tammie Cowan with a life sentence if she did not testify against Hunter and that this threat was not disclosed to the defense. The circuit court denied this claim, noting that Giglio was inapplicable because the motion failed to allege that any aspect of Cowan's testimony was false and that the proposed testimony would not satisfy the materiality prong of Brady. The circuit court also concluded that Hunter's claim failed to meet the requirements for relief based on a claim of newly discovered evidence because it could have been discovered through due diligence. In light of Hunter's specific allegations concerning his diligence, we find that the circuit court improperly found that Hunter's claim was procedurally barred because the evidence could have been discovered previously through the exercise of due diligence. [8] Hunter's motion satisfies the pleading requirements of rule 3.851 with respect to timeliness and diligence. Hunter alleged that Cowan could not be located during the pendency of the initial postconviction proceedings, despite due diligence. He specifically asserted that Ms. Cowan had been incarcerated during that period of time and, prior to her incarceration, had not maintained a consistent residence where she could have been located to obtain a statement. While the State may contest Hunter's diligence, Hunter sufficiently alleged the reason why this claim was not presented previously. Moreover, because the circuit court summarily denied Hunter's claim, this Court must accept Hunter's allegations as true to the extent that they are not conclusively refuted by the record. See Rutherford, 926 So.2d at 1108. As nothing in the record conclusively refutes Hunter's allegations, we must accept Hunter's allegations regarding his diligence as true. Accordingly, we find that the circuit court erred in denying Hunter's claim on this ground. Nevertheless, we do not find that the circuit court erred in summarily denying this claim. Hunter's allegations for his Giglio and Brady claim are insufficient and conclusively refuted by the record. A Giglio claim alleges that a prosecutor knowingly presented false testimony against the defendant. See Giglio, 405 U.S. at 153, 92 S.Ct. 763. To establish a Giglio violation, it must be shown that: (1) the testimony given was false; (2) the prosecutor knew the testimony was false; and (3) the statement was material. Guzman v. State, 868 So.2d 498, 505 (Fla. 2003) (citing Ventura v. State, 794 So.2d 553, 562 (Fla.2001)). Under Giglio, where the prosecutor knowingly uses perjured testimony, or fails to correct what the prosecutor later learns is false testimony, the false evidence is material `if there is any reasonable likelihood that the false testimony could have affected the judgment of the jury.' Guzman, 868 So.2d at 506 (quoting United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 103, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976)). Under this standard, the State has the burden to prove that false testimony was not material by demonstrating that it was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.; see also Mordenti v. State, 894 So.2d 161, 175 (Fla.2004). Thus, the standard applied under the third prong of the Giglio test is more defense-friendly than the test set out in Strickler v. Greene, 527 U.S. 263, 281-82, 119 S.Ct. 1936, 144 L.Ed.2d 286 (1999), which is applied to a violation under Brady. See Guzman, 868 So.2d at 507. Brady requires the State to disclose material information within its possession or control that is favorable to the defense. Mordenti, 894 So.2d at 168. To establish a Brady violation, the defendant has the burden to show (1) that favorable evidenceeither exculpatory or impeaching, (2) was willfully or inadvertently suppressed by the State, and (3) because the evidence was material, the defendant was prejudiced. Strickler, 527 U.S. at 281-82, 119 S.Ct. 1936; see also Way v. State, 760 So.2d 903, 910 (Fla.2000). To meet the materiality prong, the defendant must demonstrate a reasonable probability that had the suppressed evidence been disclosed the jury would have reached a different verdict. Strickler, 527 U.S. at 289, 119 S.Ct. 1936. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. Way, 760 So.2d at 913; see also Strickler, 527 U.S. at 290, 119 S.Ct. 1936. The remedy of retrial for the State's suppression of evidence favorable to the defense is available when the favorable evidence could reasonably be taken to put the whole case in such a different light as to undermine confidence in the verdict. Strickler, 527 U.S. at 290, 119 S.Ct. 1936 (quoting Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419, 435, 115 S.Ct. 1555, 131 L.Ed.2d 490 (1995)). When determining materiality, the cumulative effect of the suppressed evidence must be considered. Lightbourne v. State, 841 So.2d 431, 437 (Fla.2003). Furthermore, the impeachment value of the undisclosed evidence must be analyzed in determining whether prejudice ensued. Mordenti, 894 So.2d at 170. The circuit court found that Giglio was inapplicable because Hunter did not claim that any aspect of Cowan's trial testimony was false. The circuit court correctly concluded that Hunter's allegations failed to state a claim under Giglio. Although Hunter argues on appeal that it is clear that the crux of Mr. Hunter's claim is that Cowan's damaging testimony was false and was the direct result of the threats and promises made to her by the State, Hunter's motion contained no clear allegation that Cowan's testimony was false. While Hunter vaguely asserted that because the State's threat to Cowan was not disclosed to the defense, it constituted a violation of the duties established in Giglio forbidding the presentation of false or misleading evidence, Hunter failed to present any specific allegations in support of his Giglio claim. Hunter failed to allege that Cowan gave false testimony, he failed to allege that the prosecutor knew that Cowan's testimony was false, and he failed to allege that Cowan's testimony was material. In sum, Hunter failed to allege any of the elements of a Giglio claim. Given the significant pleading deficiencies of Hunter's Giglio claim, the circuit court's summary denial of Hunter's Giglio claim was proper. See Rodriguez v. State, 919 So.2d 1252, 1269-70 (Fla.2005) (affirming the summary denial of a Giglio claim that failed to show that the testimony was false or that the prosecutor had knowledge of the allegedly false testimony). Hunter's Brady claim also is quite conclusory, although it may contain sufficient allegations to establish the first two prongs of Brady. Nevertheless, we do not find that the circuit court erred in summarily denying this claim. The circuit court properly found that Hunter's allegations would not satisfy the materiality prong of Brady. There is no reasonable probability that had the evidence been disclosed the jury would have reached a different verdict. [9] At trial, Cowan's credibility was impeached in several respects, including her motive for testifying. Cowan testified that she was charged with accessory after the fact to armed robbery and accessory after the fact to murder for her role in the crimes with which Hunter was charged. Cowan testified that she entered a plea to the charges. She testified that she was serving a sentence of 364 days and five years' probation as a result of entering pleas to the two charges. She also testified that one of the crimes she pleaded to was a first-degree felony, punishable by up to life imprisonment. Cowan further testified that she had been worried about being charged with the murder. Cowan testified that she received five years probation, if [she] would cooperate. When asked if that included testifying at trial, Cowan testified both affirmatively and negatively and said that she was confused. Cowan also testified that she was mad at Hunter for having caused the car Cowan had borrowed to be impounded and for failing to bond her out as he had promised. In sum, although Cowan was otherwise impeached at trial, evidence that the State had threatened her with a life sentence if she did not testify against Hunter was not presented. However, even though it was not presented, the impeachment value is limited in light of the fact that Cowan was otherwise impeached in several respects. Furthermore, much of Cowan's testimony was corroborated through the testimony of Bruce Pope, one of Hunter's codefendants. Pope and Cowan gave similar testimony about the sequence of events leading up to the shooting in Daytona. Both Pope and Cowan testified that Hunter had the chrome gun when he exited the car with Pope, Boyd, and Anderson, and both testified that Hunter had the gun after the shootings. The record also contains extensive evidence of Hunter's guilt. Pope and the three surviving victims not only testified that Hunter was armed with a chrome handgun and was present at the scene of the robberies and shootings but also testified that Hunter shot the four victims, or they gave testimony implying as much. In light of the extensive evidence of Hunter's guilt and Cowan's impeachment at trial, there is no reasonable probability that had the information been disclosed to Hunter the result of the proceeding would have been different. Accordingly, we conclude that the circuit court did not err in denying an evidentiary hearing on Hunter's claim that the State withheld favorable evidence in violation of Brady and presented misleading evidence in violation of Giglio.