Opinion ID: 521003
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Materiality of Withheld Evidence to Weintraub's Conviction

Text: 16 The Supreme Court has determined that withheld evidence favorable to the accused is material only if there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A 'reasonable probability' is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. at 682, 105 S.Ct. at 3383 (opinion of Blackmun, J.); Id., 473 U.S. at 685, 105 S.Ct. at 3385 (opinion of White, J.); Pennsylvania v. Ritchie, 480 U.S. 39, 56-59, 107 S.Ct. 989, 1001-02, 94 L.Ed.2d 40 (1987) (majority opinion). 6 Applying this test, the magistrate concluded that the outcome of Weintraub's trial would not have been different if the government had properly given Weintraub the impeachment material before trial. We agree. 17 Weintraub contends that Emrick's testimony was crucial to his conviction, to the extent that the previously undisclosed evidence casting doubt on Emrick's credibility would necessarily cast doubt on Weintraub's entire conviction. When evaluating this claim, we must consider the nature of the impeachment evidence improperly withheld and the additional evidence of the defendant's guilt independent of the disputed testimony. Courts have found, for example, that impeachment evidence improperly withheld was not material where the testimony of the witness who might have been impeached was strongly corroborated by additional evidence supporting a guilty verdict. United States v. Risken, 788 F.2d 1361, 1375 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 923, 107 S.Ct. 329, 93 L.Ed.2d 302 (1986). In contrast, where the withheld evidence would seriously undermine the testimony of a key witness on an essential issue or there is no strong corroboration, the withheld evidence has been found to be material. See McDowell v. Dixon, 858 F.2d 945 (4th Cir.1988), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 109 S.Ct. 1172, 103 L.Ed.2d 230 (1989) (Victim gave only direct evidence identifying the defendant, a black man, as her assailant, and the prosecution withheld the fact that she had originally stated that the culprit was white); Lindsey v. King, 769 F.2d at 1042 (Prosecution withheld original statement by an eyewitness that he did not see an assailant's face and thus could not identify the culprit. At trial, the same eyewitness positively identified the defendant). 18 In the present case, the record and transcript from Weintraub's trial belie his claim that the withheld evidence was reasonably likely to change the outcome of his trial. Instead, the corroborating evidence of his guilt and the collateral nature of the withheld impeachment evidence compels the conclusion that this evidence was not material to Weintraub's conviction. 19 We turn first to Weintraub's conviction on the conspiracy charge. To obtain a conviction for criminal conspiracy, the government must prove: (1) that the defendant knowingly joined a group of two or more people working toward an illegal purpose; and (2) that at least one member of the group committed an overt act in furtherance of the agreement. United States v. Davis, 810 F.2d 474, 477 (5th Cir.1987); United States v. Wheeler, 802 F.2d 778, 782 (5th Cir.1986), cert. denied sub nom. Strauder v. United States, 480 U.S. 908, 107 S.Ct. 1354, 94 L.Ed.2d 524 (1987). Weintraub's indictment alleged twenty overt acts taken by Weintraub and his co-conspirators to further the conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine. Thus, the veracity of Emrick's trial testimony regarding the details of just one cocaine transaction on December 31, 1982 was not essential to establishing Weintraub's guilt on the conspiracy charges. 7 Cf. McDowell, 858 F.2d at 949-951; Lindsey, 769 F.2d at 1042 (disputed testimony regarding eyewitnesses' identification of the defendant was absolutely critical in determining guilt or innocence). 20 We also note that there was substantial independent evidence supporting the conclusion that Weintraub was involved in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, apart from Greg Emrick's trial testimony. In addition to Emrick, two other unindicted co-conspirators testified for the prosecution at Weintraub's trial. Both men testified that Weintraub, working together with his partner Andrew Glomb, supplied cocaine to them, sometimes directly and sometimes through Greg Emrick, for distribution in the Dallas area. 21 One witness, Howard Berland, admitted that he had not personally met Weintraub, but testified that he knew of Weintraub's involvement as the supplier of cocaine through his co-conspirators Emrick, Glomb, and Philip Levine. Berland often provided the money up front for cocaine purchases for himself and Levine. Berland testified that in June, 1983, he obtained a $6,000 cashier's check made out to Bernard Weintraub as payment for three ounces of cocaine. This check was introduced into evidence, and directly corresponded to one overt act listed in Weintraub's conspiracy indictment. 8 22 A second co-conspirator, Philip Levine, testified more fully as to Weintraub's involvement in the cocaine distribution conspiracy. Levine testified that he had met Weintraub in August, 1982, in Dallas through Andrew Glomb, who told Levine that Weintraub was Glomb's partner in cocaine distribution. Levine further stated that on various dates in 1983, he ordered cocaine for himself and Berland from Weintraub and Glomb, with Emrick sometimes serving as a middleman. Levine testified that on June 23, 1983, he and Emrick picked up Weintraub at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. According to Levine, they drove to the Dallas Apparel Mart, where Levine was employed. At this time, Levine personally gave Weintraub the same $6,000 cashier's check that Berland had made out in exchange for three ounces of cocaine. Levine's testimony also directly corresponded to overt acts listed in the conspiracy indictment. 23 We have summarized only part of Levine and Berland's testimony; both witnesses recounted other instances of buying cocaine from Weintraub and Glomb. Their testimony was consistent with Greg Emrick's testimony regarding several occasions when Weintraub supplied cocaine to the Dallas purchasers. When the trial transcript is considered as a whole, it is clear that there was sufficient evidence to find that Weintraub knowingly participated in a scheme to distribute cocaine and that overt acts were committed in furtherance of this scheme, even if Emrick's testimony regarding the details of the alleged December 31, 1982 transaction and the total amount of cocaine distributed had been thoroughly discredited. Given the testimony of Levine and Berland, we cannot say that the withheld impeachment evidence that casts doubt on a small portion of Emrick's trial testimony also casts serious doubt on Weintraub's conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. 24 Weintraub's conviction on Counts IV and V, arising from the delivery of cocaine to Emrick in Dallas on April 24, 1983, is a closer question. Levine and Berland were not involved in this incident, and thus did not testify as to the April 24 transaction. But the prosecution did introduce documentary evidence which corroborated Emrick's testimony that Weintraub flew into Dallas and stayed at the Holiday Inn in Irving, Texas on that date. The hotel telephone records confirm that Weintraub called Emrick from the hotel. In addition, Weintraub's own witness, Susan Morency, testified that she and Weintraub stayed at the Holiday Inn on that date and met with Greg Emrick. 9 25 The jury could reasonably infer from this evidence, coupled with other evidence of Weintraub and Emrick's extensive involvement in cocaine distribution, that Weintraub delivered cocaine to Emrick on April 24, 1983 and used the phone to facilitate this transaction. The withheld impeachment evidence regarding another transaction and the total amount of cocaine distributed does not cast serious doubt upon this conclusion. 26 In support of his argument that the withheld impeachment evidence was material to his conviction, Weintraub emphasizes that the jury acquitted him on Counts II and III of the indictment, arising from Weintraub's alleged distribution of cocaine to Emrick on March 24, 1983. These two counts were the only counts in the indictment supported solely by Emrick's trial testimony, without any documentary evidence or independent corroborating testimony. Weintraub contends that this acquittal establishes that Emrick's trial testimony was absolutely crucial to his conviction--where the jury disbelieved Emrick, they acquitted Weintraub. Thus, Weintraub argues, the withheld impeachment evidence must be considered material. 27 We find, however, that this argument cuts the other way. Weintraub's acquittal on Counts II and III supports our conclusion that the withheld impeachment evidence was not material to Weintraub's conviction. The acquittals suggest that the jury already doubted Emrick's credibility, and so was unwilling to convict Weintraub solely on the basis Emrick's testimony without corroborating evidence. 10 The withheld evidence, with the potential to impeach Emrick's trial testimony on two additional matters, could therefore be considered cumulative, and would not be material to Weintraub's conviction. 28