Opinion ID: 776954
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Patrick's history of misconduct while acting as an informant

Text: 48 The prosecution failed to disclose evidence of Patrick's persistent misconduct while acting as an informant, even though the trial judge explicitly ordered the state to disclose all such information to the defense. Specifically, the state failed to disclose: that Patrick, while acting as an informant, had stolen both drugs and money during drug busts and had lied to police about it; that a detective had written a deactivation memo stating that Patrick could no longer work as an informant because he could not be trusted to follow departmental rules; that Patrick, while acting as an informant, had broken into an evidence room and stolen drugs, resulting in burglary and obstruction of justice charges being filed against him; that Patrick had smuggled guns into a prison where he was housed, concealed his own involvement, and then told prison officials of the presence of the weapons in an effort to have his sentence reduced; and that although Patrick testified at trial that he did not ever use drugs, he continually did so during his time as an informant. 49 The state does not contest that this evidence was impeachment material that was suppressed by the prosecution. Rather, it contends that the suppressed material was cumulative and its suppression harmless because Patrick was sufficiently impeached by questions about his history as a paid informant in drug cases, his prior convictions, the reduction in his arson sentence, and the fact that the state was paying his motel and food bills. See United States v. Vgeri 51 F.3d 876, 880 (9th Cir.1995) (undisclosed impeachment evidence is immaterial and cumulative when the witness is already sufficiently impeached); see also Ortiz v. Stewart, 149 F.3d 923, 936 (9th Cir.1998) (same). 50 The undisclosed impeachment evidence in this case was substantial and was far more damaging to Patrick's credibility than the impeachment evidence available to the defense at trial. If anything, the police—sanitized version of Patrick's fifteen years of work as an informant increased his credibility in the eyes of the jurors. The jury was told only that the police routinely relied on Patrick for help with drug investigations. Information demonstrating that Patrick had regularly lied to the authorities while acting as an informant, was untrustworthy and deceptive, and was even willing to fabricate crimes in order to gain a benefit for himself would have severely undermined his credibility. The mere fact that a prosecution witness has a prior record, even when combined with other impeachment evidence that a defendant introduces, does not render otherwise critical impeachment evidence cumulative. See, e.g., United States v. Steinberg, 99 F.3d 1486, 1489-92 (9th Cir.1996) (holding that the government's failure to disclose that an informant had been involved in two illegal transactions involving counterfeit currency was material even though the informant had been impeached through questioning about a plea agreement that he had made with the government). In cases in which the witness is central to the prosecution's case, the defendant's conviction indicates that in all likelihood the impeachment evidence introduced at trial was insufficient to persuade a jury that the witness lacked credibility. Therefore, the suppressed impeachment evidence, assuming it meets the test for disclosure, takes on an even greater importance. 51 For example, in Carriger v. Stewart, 132 F.3d at 479, we held that information that an informant had been unreliable in the past constituted material impeachment evidence for Brady purposes. Like Patrick, the informant in Carriger came to the police with an offer of information and received a benefit for providing the information. Id. at 465. We stated that [w]hen the state decides to rely on the testimony of such a witness, it is the state's obligation to turn over all information bearing on that witness's credibility. Id. at 480. As we said, [t]his must include the witness's criminal record, including prison records, and any information therein which bears on credibility. Id. Like Patrick, the informant in Carriger was impeached at trial with evidence of prior convictions. In fact, the defense's impeachment of the informant in Carriger was more extensive than Benn's impeachment of Patrick. At Carriger's trial, it was shown that the informant was a career burglar with six previous felonies, see id. at 480, whereas here, Patrick was impeached with only three previous convictions. 52 In holding that the suppressed evidence was material in Carriger, we stated that: 53 The district court erred when it concluded that Carriger had not been prejudiced by the withholding of the information because the jury already knew [that the informant] was a burglar testifying with immunity. The telling evidence that remained undisclosed included the length of [the informant's] record ... and, more important, his long history of lying to the police. 54 Id. at 481. Here, the defense was not informed of Patrick's burglary and obstruction of justice charges, his fraudulent attempt to smuggle guns into a prison, or his multiple thefts of drugs and money; nor was it informed of the fact that Patrick provided false information to law enforcement. As a result, the jury was not told about Patrick's record of criminal misconduct while acting as an informant, nor that he had repeatedly lied to the police. 55 The present case is also similar to United States v. Brumel-Alvarez, 991 F.2d 1452 (9th Cir.1992), in which the government's principal witness was a police informant who had been involved in illegal drug operations for twenty-five years. The government withheld a memorandum that detailed false claims that the police informant had made to government agents. Id. at 1459. We stated that the informant's credibility was an important issue in the case and that [e]vidence that he lied during the investigation ... would be relevant to his credibility and the jury was entitled to know of it. Id. at 1463; see also United States v. Bernal-Obeso, 989 F.2d 331, 335 (9th Cir.1993) ([A] lie to the authorities paying for [an informant's] services... would be relevant evidence as to the informant's credibility.). 56 Evidence that Patrick continually used drugs while acting as an informant and that the police knew about this but chose not to prosecute him would also be relevant to show his bias. If Patrick was continually receiving a benefit from the prosecution — the ability to use drugs without fear of criminal repercussions — that would have given him a motive to provide the prosecution with inculpatory information, even if he had to fabricate it. 57 Finally, evidence that Patrick was using drugs during the trial would reflect on his competence and credibility as a witness. There was no evidence at trial to impeach Patrick's competence or his ability to recollect or perceive the events. Thus, evidence of his drug use would have provided the defense with a new and different ground of impeachment. 58 Were there no other pieces of withheld evidence in this case, we would hold that the suppression of impeachment evidence about Patrick's criminal misconduct and repeated lies to the police, while acting as an informant, is, standing alone, sufficiently prejudicial to establish a Brady violation. The fact that other impeachment evidence was introduced by the defense does not affect our conclusion. Where, as here, there is reason to believe that the jury relied on a witness's testimony to reach its verdict despite the introduction of impeachment evidence at trial, and there is a reasonable probability that the suppressed impeachment evidence, when considered together with the disclosed impeachment evidence, would have affected the jury's assessment of the witness's credibility, the suppressed impeachment evidence is prejudicial. We need not further address the prejudice issue at this point, however, given our holding that the withheld impeachment evidence, when analyzed collectively, materially undermines our confidence in the verdict. See discussion of prejudice infra Section IV.B.5.