Opinion ID: 1810649
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether Crawford was denied due process by the failure to disclose an F.B.I. Report Prior to trial.

Text: ¶ 9. To succeed on a motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence, the petitioner must prove that new evidence has been discovered since the close of trial and that it could not have been discovered through due diligence before the trial began. Meeks v. State, 781 So.2d 109, 112 (Miss.2001) (citing Smith v. State, 492 So.2d 260, 263 (Miss.1986)). In addition, the petitioner must show that the newly discovered evidence will probably produce a different result or induce a different verdict, if a new trial is granted. Id. This requires a showing that the evidence is material and is not merely cumulative or impeaching. [3] Id. ¶ 10. Evidence is material only if there is a reasonable probability (i.e., probability sufficient enough to undermine confidence in the outcome) that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different. De La Beckwith v. State, 707 So.2d 547, 572 (Miss.1997) (quoting United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 681, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 3383, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985)). ¶ 11. Aside from a general assertion that the non-disclosure impaired defense counsel's ability to cross-examine F.B.I. witnesses, Crawford claims that the newly discovered evidence directly contradicts the testimony of F.B.I. agent Joe Jackson. Because, according to Crawford, this new evidence had potential to be a valid impeachment device, a new trial should be granted. We disagree. ¶ 12. Crawford's main argument is that the F.B.I. report contains a statement that directly contradicts Agent Jackson's testimony. At trial, Agent Jackson stated that the F.B.I. would not have been able to find the victim's body in the time that was done without his (Crawford's) assistance. The report contains a statement that a search plane was utilized and extremely beneficial in guiding the search team to the victim's body. In fact, it was quite possible [that the] victim might not have been located that evening without [its use]. ¶ 13. These statements are not directly contradictory. When read together, they indicate that it would have been difficult to find the body in a certain time frame without Crawford's assistance and difficult to find it at night without the use of the plane. In addition, an affidavit provided by agent Jackson explains exactly how the F.B.I. utilized Crawford's assistance and the plane to locate the victim's body. Thus, the F.B.I. report is of little impeachment value, much less the material value required for the grant of a new trial and this claim fails.