Opinion ID: 576663
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Bryant's Testimony

Text: 13 Prior to trial, the district court ordered the Government to preserve the rough notes of its agents. In violation of this order, Bryant, after preparing a summary of his notes, destroyed the scraps that made up his rough notes. Ramirez contends that this action violates the Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3500. The Jencks Act requires that after a Government witness has testified, the Government must produce any statement of the witness that the Government possesses. Id. § 3500(b). The statute defines statement in relevant part as a written statement made by said witness and signed or otherwise adopted or approved by him. Id. § 3500(e)(1). 14 The notes destroyed by Bryant consisted of odd pieces of paper on which Bryant jotted down names, addresses, and license plate numbers. We find that the scattered notes taken by Bryant over the course of the investigation do not fit within the Act's purview. See United States v. Roemer, 703 F.2d 805, 807 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 935, 104 S.Ct. 341, 78 L.Ed.2d 309 (1983); Needelman v. United States, 261 F.2d 802, 806 (5th Cir.1958), cert. dismissed, 362 U.S. 600, 80 S.Ct. 960, 4 L.Ed.2d 980 (1960). The district court, therefore, was not obligated to prohibit Bryant's testimony, as it would have been had the Act applied. 15 Nonetheless, Bryant's destruction of his notes was a violation of the court's discovery order and subject to the provisions of Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The court, in its discretion, could have prohibited disclosure of the information destroyed by Bryant. Considerations such as why the notes were destroyed, the prejudice to Ramirez, and other circumstances all are relevant to the court's decision. United States v. Sarcinelli, 67 F.2d 5, 6-7 (5th Cir.1982). Bryant destroyed his rough notes because he thought them unnecessary once he had summarized them. The information contained in them was available to Ramirez in other forms, such as the summary and the DEA's report. The prejudice Ramirez suffered, if any, from the note's destruction, therefore, was minimal. The district court's decision to permit Bryant to testify was well within its discretion.