Opinion ID: 885231
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Bull Coming's Allegations of Rape

Text: ¶ 25 Bull Coming was held at the Custer County jail from October 21, 1987, until she was transferred to the Rosebud County jail on April 7, 1988. After her transfer, Bull Coming told Ron Bromley, a Rosebud County Deputy Sheriff, that she had been repeatedly sexually assaulted by a Custer County jailer. Bromley notified Bull Coming's attorney, Garry Bunke, about Bull Coming's allegations, who then called FBI agent Ed Traeger in Billings. The FBI conducted an investigation and subsequently notified the Custer County Sheriff that they would not be pursuing further action. The State never informed Petitioner's trial counsel about Bull Coming's allegations. ¶ 26 In order to qualify as a Brady violation, suppressed evidence must be both favorable to the accused and material. Strickler, 527 U.S. at 281-82, 119 S.Ct. at 1948. Petitioner claims that this evidence is favorable because of its impeachment value. Petitioner contends that if Bull Coming's allegation was true, this information could have been used to show that Bull Coming had a motivation to testify falsely in order to get free of her horrific situation in jail. However, this claim is factually impossible. By the time Bull Coming testified in either Lester Kills On Top or Petitioner's trials, held in June and July of 1988, she had already been transferred out of the Custer County jail-she was transferred to the Rosebud County jail on April 7, 1988. Furthermore, Bull Coming did not face any threat of being returned to the Custer County jail based on the truth or falsity of her testimony. This information has no impeachment value for this purpose. ¶ 27 Petitioner contends that if Bull Coming's allegation was false, it could have been used for three impeachment purposes: (1) it would demonstrate Bull Coming's manipulative nature and her routine lying to get what she wants; (2) it would contradict Bull Coming's testimony that it was Lester Kills On Top, and not she, who taunted Etchemendy as to how he liked raping Indian girls; and (3) it would show that Bull Coming was the moving force behind the crimes because she had a motive. ¶ 28 Bull Coming's allegation, if false, may have had some impeachment value. Whether Bull Coming falsely accused a Custer County jailer of sexually assaulting her does not establish that she had a motive to kidnap, rob, and kill Etchemendy. Similarly, Bull Coming's allegation, if proven false, does not contradict her testimony that it was Lester Kills On Top and not she who taunted Etchemendy. On the other hand, it is conceivable that had Petitioner's trial counsel been informed of this information, he could have developed facts which would somehow have indicated that Bull Coming's allegation was false, questioned Bull Coming about these facts during his cross-examination, and thus attempted to undermine her credibility. See Lester Kills on Top II, 273 Mont. at 44, 901 P.2d at 1376 (observing that Lester Kills on Top could have used information about Bull Coming's allegation of sexual assault to attempt to cast doubt on Bull Coming's veracity or to show her propensity to manipulate others). Arguably, this evidence has some favorable impeachment value.