Opinion ID: 551278
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Effect of the Delay.

Text: 44 Defendant learned of Gottlieb's history midway through the witness' first full day of testimony. The next day, the judge adjourned the trial for the rest of the week, affording defense counsel ready access to the witness and his medical records. This postponement gave the defendant nearly four full days to have the witness examined and to review the records. Trial resumed on the following Monday, but only after a searching voir dire had been held. From that point forward, Gottlieb spent another two and a half days on the witness stand. 45 Defendant argues that, if the disclosure had been made earlier, the first part of Gottlieb's direct examination would have taken a different course. A painstaking review of the transcript belies counsel's entropic assertion that he would have handled Gottlieb's testimony differently had he known the psychiatric history in advance. We have been unable to detect any discernible change in defense strategy before and after the disclosure. In both settings, counsel's objections were substantially the same. Moreover, counsel has put no flesh on the bare bones of his altered strategy complaint; he has not pointed credibly to, say, specific objections he might have lodged (but let pass), or particular arguments he might have advanced (but did not). A defendant who claims that his hand was prematurely forced by delayed disclosure cannot rely on wholly conclusory assertions but must bear the burden of producing, at the very least, a prima facie showing of a plausible strategic option which the delay foreclosed. Devin has failed to do so. 46 Defendant's claim that cross-examination of Gottlieb was unfairly hampered rings just as hollow. The cross-examination did not commence until midway through the sixth trial day, nearly a week after appellant first learned of Gottlieb's psychiatric history. By that time, the defense had enjoyed five full days to pore over the witness' medical records. The district judge afforded counsel great liberty in questioning Gottlieb about his psychiatric treatment and counsel exploited that opportunity to the hilt. Cross-examination was incisive and robust. Perhaps, ideally, Devin's attorney might have wished for more time to peruse the medical records--but trials rarely take place under laboratory conditions. What counts is that the five day interval provided an adequate period within which to digest the substance of the materials and prepare for cross-examination. 47 The last arrow in defendant's mistrial quiver is the claim that, had he been aware of Gottlieb's past before trial, he would have selected a totally different jury. This arrow will not fly. The Constitution guarantees a criminal defendant the right to be judged by a panel of impartial, 'indifferent' jurors, Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717, 722, 81 S.Ct. 1639, 1642, 6 L.Ed.2d 751 (1961) (quoting Lord Coke); United States v. Moreno Morales, 815 F.2d 725, 732 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 966, 108 S.Ct. 458, 98 L.Ed.2d 397 (1987), not by a jury believed by defense counsel as likely to view the evidence in a particular way. Appellant has not suggested, much less shown, that the talesmen who sat in judgment of his case were other than impartial and indifferent. Hence, he cannot be heard to complain. 48 To recapitulate, the district court warrantably found that the time lag in disclosing Gottlieb's psychiatric history did not impair effective use of the information, hinder presentation of the defense, result in unfair prejudice, or cause an alteration in defense strategy. Because our review of the record persuades us that these findings, while perhaps not inevitable, were clearly within the court's discretion, we will not set them aside. See Krebs, 788 F.2d at 1176-77; Hemmer, 729 F.2d at 14; United States v. Smith, 609 F.2d 1294, 1302-03 (9th Cir.1979); United States v. Ziperstein, 601 F.2d 281, 291 (7th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1031, 100 S.Ct. 701, 62 L.Ed.2d 667 (1980). The delayed disclosure had no effect on the outcome of the trial. 49