Opinion ID: 2518344
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Was the follow-up investigation report favorable to petitioner?

Text: The first element of a Brady claim is that the evidence be favorable to the accused. ( Strickler v. Greene, supra, 527 U.S. at pp. 281-282, 119 S.Ct. 1936.) In petitioner's view, evidence that Dr. Ribe altered his opinion as to the timing of Lance Helms's incapacitation and death was favorable to him in that it could have been used to impeach Dr. Ribe's testimony concerning the timeline in this case. The impeaching value of this evidence, according to petitioner, does not depend on a finding that Dr. Ribe's earlier testimony was inconsistent with his testimony here. Nor does it rest on a theory that the change in Dr. Ribe's testimony suggested he is incompetent. Petitioner contends instead that Dr. Ribe's performance in Wingfield showed that he is biased. He reasons that Dr. Ribe relied on arguably inappropriate non-medical `facts' when he changed his opinion.... [I]f a pathologist relies on non-medical facts as a foundation for his medical opinion, and especially if he relies on such facts contrary to accepted practice, he is subject to impeachment.... [¶] The fact is that Dr. Ribe takes non-medical information and then shifts his opinion to accommodate those facts. The Attorney General disagrees that Dr. Ribe relied on nonmedical facts in revising his opinion, pointing out that Dr. Ribe had failed to appreciate the possibility of respiratory arrest in forming his original opinion and had subsequently consulted with outside experts. The Attorney General contends further that a change of opinion based on further research or new facts is not `impeaching' information and that, in any event, petitioner has not shown that Dr. Ribe's revised opinion was wrong. It is well settled that the prosecution's Brady obligation to disclose material evidence favorable to the defense encompasses impeachment evidence. ( City of Los Angeles v. Superior Court (2002) 29 Cal.4th 1, 8, 124 Cal.Rptr.2d 202, 52 P.3d 129.) The Attorney General does not argue that the follow-up investigation report was unfavorable to petitioner. He contends instead that the report is not impeaching because Dr. Ribe had a legitimate basis for changing his opinion in that earlier case. But this objection goes to the weight, not the character of the evidence as impeaching or, in Brady terms, the Attorney General is really disputing whether the evidence is material, not whether it is favorable. We therefore find that petitioner has established the first element of a Brady claim.