Opinion ID: 613537
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Framing others

Text: Defendants' contention that Rhoades was preparing to frame someone is casually mentioned in their appellate briefs. We note first that no factual support or legal argument is offered to substantiate the claims beyond the level of fanciful speculation. Such an attenuated and unsupported assertion does not cast doubt on the outcome of the trial and thereby constitute a Brady violation. See United States v. Starusko, 729 F.2d 256, 262 (3d Cir.1984) ([ Brady non-disclosure] must adversely affect the court's ability to reach a just conclusion....). Second, even were this court to accept defendants' conjecture, it would not rise to the level of a reasonable probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the verdict. The possession of what can only be considered a minimal amount of crack cocaine (about 1/150th of an ounce), when Rhoades was asked to make a controlled buy of an amount more than one hundred times greater than that (one ounce or more), cannot reasonably be tied to an elaborate scheme to frame someone else. Although not impossible, it is certainly not reasonably probable, and thus, cannot be the basis for Brady relief.