Opinion ID: 764446
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: In Camera Inspection of Presentence Reports

Text: 10 Mitchell challenges the district court's refusal to conduct an in camera inspection of the presentence reports of Williams, Natasha Williams, and Womack. Mitchell argues that such an inspection was required by Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), because an inspection may have turned up impeachment information, such as inconsistent or false statements concerning the North Shore Bank robbery, and/or information concerning the criminal records of the witnesses. We review the district judge's refusal to inspect the documents for abuse of discretion. 11 In Brady, the Supreme Court held that the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment. 373 U.S. at 87, 83 S.Ct. at 1196-97. Impeachment evidence, as well as exculpatory evidence, falls within this rule. United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 676, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 3380, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985); Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 154, 92 S.Ct. 763, 766, 31 L.Ed.2d 104 (1972); United States v. Boyd, 55 F.3d 239, 244 (7th Cir.1995). Finally, we have noted that [g]enerally, presentence reports are helpful in effectively cross-examining witnesses because these reports may contain impeachment material. United States v. Canino, 949 F.2d 928, 942 (7th Cir.1991). Thus, Mitchell argues that the district judge was required to conduct an in camera inspection of the presentence reports of the government's accomplice-witnesses in order to determine whether the reports contained any impeachment material. 12 Mitchell's argument is misguided. As we have explained before, a due process standard which is satisfied by mere speculation would convert Brady into a discovery device and impose an undue burden upon the district court. United States v. Morris, 957 F.2d 1391, 1403 (7th Cir.1992) (quoting United States v. Navarro, 737 F.2d 625, 631 (7th Cir.1984)). It is simply asking too much of district court judges to require that they review the presentence reports of all witnesses when there is no particular indication that the reports contain Brady material. In a drug conspiracy case, such a rule could easily result in the judge being obligated to root through the presentence reports of twenty coconspirator witnesses. For this reason, [m]ere speculation that a government file may contain Brady material is not sufficient to require a remand for in camera inspection, much less reversal for a new trial. Id. 13 We have been guided by this principle in several cases. In Morris, we held that the district judge was not required to conduct an in camera review of FBI reports on a government witness because the defendant could not offer anything beyond speculation to indicate that the reports contained Brady information and because the government claimed that it had turned over all Brady material. 957 F.2d at 1402. In United States v. Andrus, we held that the district judge was not obligated to examine the personnel files of law enforcement witnesses when there was no suggestion that the files contained any impeachment material. 775 F.2d 825, 843 (7th Cir.1985). Finally, in United States v. Navarro, we held that the district court was not required to examine the INS file of an informant-witness when the defendant offered nothing more than speculation that the file contained evidence of a cooperation agreement. 737 F.2d at 631-32. Similarly, Local Rule 20.01 for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, which constrained the government in this case, states that a presentence report may only be disclosed to someone other than the subject of the report when the person requesting the report establishes with particularity the need for specified information contained in [the report]. E.D. Wis. R. 20.01. 14 Mitchell's case closely parallels Morris, Andrus, and Navarro. There is no indication that the presentence reports of Williams, Natasha Williams, and Womack contain undisclosed Brady material. Furthermore, the district judge found that the government was well aware of its obligations under Brady. (Order of April 15, 1998.) In addition, as the magistrate judge noted, the government's open file policy provides defendants with more discovery materials than the defendant would be entitled to obtain under strict adherence to the federal rules. 1 (Order of March 25, 1998.) Under these circumstances, the district judge concluded that there was no need to examine the presentence reports in camera. (Order of April 15, 1998.) We are inclined to agree. 15 Mitchell's citations to United States v. Anderson, 724 F.2d 596 (7th Cir.1984), and Canino, 949 F.2d 928, do not persuade us otherwise. Neither case announces an absolute requirement that district judges examine witnesses' presentence reports. In Anderson, the defendant sought review of a witness' presentence report specifically to determine when the witness had stopped using heroin, and to determine whether the witness' use of heroin had had deleterious effects on his memory. Anderson, 724 F.2d at 597. We held that a trial judge has no duty to disclose presentence reports about a witness at the mere request of a criminal defendant, but that [w]hen a defendant suspects that a witness' presentence report contains impeachment material, [the defendant] should request the trial court to make an in camera examination of the report. Id. at 598. Several years later, in Canino, we approved the district court's decision to review documents in camera for the purpose of finding impeachment material useful in cross-examining the government's witnesses. 949 F.2d at 942. However, we rejected Canino's contention that the district judge was required to review the presentence reports prior to cross-examination. Id. at 943. While both Anderson and Canino authorize in camera review, and even suggest that in camera review is good practice, neither case contradicts our earlier statement that a Brady request does not entitle a criminal defendant to embark upon an unwarranted fishing expedition through government files, nor does it mandate that a trial judge conduct an in camera inspection of the government's files in every case. United States v. Phillips, 854 F.2d 273, 278 (7th Cir.1988). While the proper procedure for a defendant is to request an in camera inspection if the defendant suspects that Brady material has not been disclosed, the defendant is not entitled to have his request granted absent some indication that the report contains impeachment material of the kind requested. Therefore, the district judge did not abuse his discretion when he refused to review the presentence reports.