Opinion ID: 653702
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The District Court's Rulings on the Motions to Dismiss the Indictments

Text: 7 A district court may dismiss an indictment for a violation of due process or pursuant to its supervisory powers. United States v. Barrera-Moreno, 951 F.2d 1089, 1091 (9th Cir.1991). To warrant dismissal on due process grounds, government conduct must be so grossly shocking and outrageous as to violate the universal sense of justice. United States v. Green, 962 F.2d 938, 941 (9th Cir.1992). We reject Catherine's suggestion that the government's conduct in this case rises to that level. 8 Dismissal under the court's supervisory powers for prosecutorial misconduct requires (1) flagrant misbehavior and (2) substantial prejudice. United States v. Jacobs, 855 F.2d 652, 655 (9th Cir.1988) (per curiam). We conclude that the first prong was not met here. Although it is likely that the second was not met either, we need not reach that question. The Glendale Police Department's erroneous response appears to have to have been due to incompetence and other non-invidious factors rather than to intentional deception. Moreover, a written copy of the agreement was turned over to Catherine before the end of trial and within hours of the prosecution's receipt of it. This demonstrates that the federal officials involved did not engage in flagrant misbehavior. For these reasons, the dismissal of the indictment against Catherine on the ground of prosecutorial misconduct cannot stand. For these same reasons, the district court's denial of James' motion to dismiss the indictment for prosecutorial misconduct was not erroneous. 9 Catherine next argues that both the government's failure to provide a written agreement in a timely manner and the Glendale Police Department's policy of destroying informant agreements are violations of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), and, therefore, deprived her of due process. She also argues that Glendale's policy of destroying such agreements is in bad faith. The record does not support the latter contention. 1 As to the alleged Brady violations, even assuming that the failure to turn over the agreement in a timely fashion qualifies as such, our precedents make clear that dismissal of an indictment is an appropriate sanction for a constitutional violation only where less drastic alternatives are not available. Barrera-Moreno, 951 F.2d at 1093. That standard is not met here. A copy of the agreement was located prior to the end of trial. The district court could have granted a continuance and allowed additional cross-examination of Rosemary based upon the impeachment material in the written agreement. It also could have granted a motion for a new trial. Therefore, the district court's dismissal of the indictment cannot be upheld on Brady grounds. For similar reasons, dismissal would not have been a proper remedy for any violations of the discovery process that may have occurred in James' case. 10 In sum, the district court erred in dismissing the indictment against Catherine but properly denied James' motion to dismiss. 11 B. The Government's Failure to Turn over Impeachment Evidence Does Not Warrant a Reversal of James' Conviction. 12 If the government fails to disclose material impeachment evidence regarding government witnesses, then it violates Brady and the due process clause. United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985); United States v. Strifler, 851 F.2d 1197, 1201 (9th Cir.1988). Requested impeachment evidence is material if it raises a reasonable probability that the result of the proceeding would have been different. Bagley, 473 U.S. at 682, 105 S.Ct. at 3383. Good faith is irrelevant to a Brady violation. Arizona v. Youngblood, 488 U.S. 51, 57, 109 S.Ct. 333, 337, 102 L.Ed.2d 281 (1988). James argues that the government's failures to disclose the written informant agreement with Rosemary and turn over Sergio's FBI rap-sheet violate Brady and require reversal. The government responds that no violation occurred with respect to the informant agreement because its introduction would probably not have affected the verdict. The government also contends it provided sufficient information as to Sergio's criminal history that reversal is not required. 13 We agree with the government in both respects. It is true that the written agreement showed that Rosemary was required to do a deal of a nature similar to the Kearns deal at the time that deal took place or else the charges against her would not be dropped. It is also true that the testimony at James' trial did not fully bring out the extent of the time pressure on Rosemary. However, Rosemary specifically testified at James' trial that she was under time pressure to fulfill her agreement with the Glendale Police. Therefore, we cannot say that there is a reasonable probability that the result of the proceeding would have been different had the precise terms of the written agreement been available to James and the jury. Likewise, in view of the evidence that was provided to the defense regarding Sergio's criminal history, the government's failure to turn over certain details of his record as reflected in his rap sheet does not satisfy the Bagley standard, either alone or when taken together with the nondisclosure of the written informant agreement.