Opinion ID: 749852
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the court's denial of pope's request for a new trial

Text: 11 The second contention Pope makes is that the district court erred in denying his motion for a new trial based upon newly discovered evidence. The newly discovered evidence was the actual record of Phyllis' 1968 burglary conviction. We review a district court's denial of a motion for a new trial due to newly discovered evidence only for abuse of discretion. See United States v. Starrett, 55 F.3d 1525, 1554 (11th Cir.1995). 12 The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure state that the court on motion of defendant may grant a new trial to that defendant if required in the interest of justice. Fed.R.Crim.P. 33. This Circuit has refined and limited that broad language to require that a party moving for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence must satisfy four conditions: (1) the evidence must be newly discovered and have been unknown to the defendant at the time of trial; (2) the evidence must be material, and not merely cumulative or impeaching; (3) the evidence must be such that it will probably produce an acquittal; and (4) the failure to learn of such evidence must not be due to a lack of due diligence on the part of the defendant. See United States v. Sjeklocha, 843 F.2d 485, 487 (11th Cir.1988). 13 The records concerning the 1968 burglary conviction relate solely to the impeachment of Phyllis, thus failing the second requirement. In addition, nothing in the record suggests that those records would probably produce an acquittal. The records do not change the fact that the conviction was twenty-eight years old at the time of trial. Thus, the newly discovered evidence fails the third requirement, also. Because at least two of the four requirements for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence are not met, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Pope's motion for a new trial. 14