Opinion ID: 319775
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: the motion to disclose and the indigent subpoena.

Text: 48 The Government advised defense counsel that Dr. Ellinwood, a psychiatrist from Duke University, would testify for the Government. Dr. Ellinwood was brought to Chicago during the course of the trial but was never called as a witness. Defense counsel presented a motion to the trial court to order the Government to disclose the views of Dr. Ellinwood. In the alternative, the defense requested that an indigent subpoena be issued for Dr. Ellinwood, who had since returned to North Carolina. The district court denied both motions. 49 Defendant's motion to disclose is based on the suppression-of-evidence cases derived from Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). According to the defendant, the Government, in not disclosing Dr. Ellinwood's views, suppressed material evidence which might have been favorable to the accused. We are unpersuaded by this argument for two reasons. 50 First, defendant has failed to show that there was a suppression of any evidence. The Government provided defendant with the name and location of Dr. Ellinwood. Defense counsel, moreover, twice spoke to Dr. Ellinwood on the telephone and discussed with him his views on defendant's sanity. The present case is thereby distinguishable from the suppression cases. In Ashley v. Texas, 319 F.2d 80 (5th Cir. 1963), cert. denied, 375 U.S. 931, 84 S.Ct. 331, 11 L.Ed.2d 263, the court held that the Government's failure to disclose the existence of psychiatric opinions, indicating that the defendants were legally incompetent, was a suppression of evidence resulting in a denial of due process. In Ashley, however, the defense counsel knew nothing of the psychiatric examinations either during the trial or for a considerable period thereafter. A similar situation existed in United States v. Poole, 379 F.2d 645 (7th Cir. 1967), where this court held there had been governmental suppression of a medical report, when the defense counsel knew of neither the physician's identity nor his findings at the time of the trial. There is no suppression when, as is the case here, defense counsel has obtained, during the trial, knowledge of substantially the same evidence he claims has been suppressed. Rosenberg v. United States, 360 U.S. 367, 371, 79 S.Ct. 1231, 3 L.Ed.2d 1304 (1959); Thomas v. United States, 343 F.2d 49, 54-55 (9th Cir. 1965). There is no indication that the Government was in possession of information which was unavailable or unknown to defense counsel. A thorough exploration of what Dr. Ellinwood knew was as near to Greene as the telephone and we have not been shown that that instrument's potential was not utilized. 51 Second, as will be discussed hereinafter in relation to the motion for an indigent subpoena, we do not regard Dr. Ellinwood's views or testimony to be sufficiently material to defendant's case to require a reversal. 52 Defendant's alternative motion for an indigent subpoena for Dr. Ellinwood was based on Rule 17(b), Fed.R.Crim.P., which requires a 'satisfactory showing . . . that the presence of the witness is necessary to an adequate defense.' The trial court is vested with wide discretion regarding the granting of such a subpoena, and only the abuse of such discretion is reversible error. United States v. Schultz, 431 F.2d 907, 910 (8th Cir. 1970). In exercising this discretion, the district court should give consideration to the relevancy and materiality of the proposed witness. 53 Greene argues that Dr. Ellinwood's testimony would have been material to his defense since Mr. Ellinwood was an authority in the field of toxic psychosis and the prosecutor had quoted from Dr. Ellinwood's articles in cross-examining defense psychiatrists. 54 A number of factors, however, indicate that Dr. Ellinwood's testimony was not necessary for an 'adequate defense.' First, at the time defendant moved for the subpoena, the defense already had five medical experts to testify on the issue of Greene's sanity. Greene did not indicate to the district court in what way Dr. Ellinwood's testimony would add to that already available. Four defense experts, in fact, did testify at the trial about toxic psychosis, the alleged expertise of Dr. Ellinwood. Under these circumstances, Dr. Ellinwood's testimony would, at best, have been cumulative. Second, defense counsel admitted to the trial court that Dr. Ellinwood had told defense that any testimony he gave would be 'balanced.' It is, therefore, difficult to see how the absence of Dr. Ellinwood's testimony prejudiced defendant. Third, Dr. Ellinwood, as defense counsel admitted to the trial judge, had never examined defendant. If subpoenaed, Dr. Ellinwood could only testify on the basis of the reports of other physicians. Finally, the record indicates that the prosecution did not rely extensively on Dr. Ellinwood's articles in cross-examining defense experts. Four of the five defense experts were cross-examined about statements made by authorities other than Dr. Ellinwood. Only one defense psychiatrist, Dr. Boshes, was questioned about an article written by Dr. Ellinwood. The prosecutor did not portray Dr. Ellinwood as the only or the leading authority on toxic psychosis; nor did he place any greater weight on Dr. Ellinwood's article than he did on any other article used in the cross-examinations of defense experts. Furthermore, Dr. Boshes himself was cross-examined about articles written by authorities other than Dr. Ellinwood. 55 Under these circumstances, we conclude that there was no reversible error. See Wagner v. United States, 416 F.2d 558, 564 (9th Cir. 1969), cert. denied, 397 U.S. 923, 90 S.Ct. 915, 25 L.Ed.2d 104 (1970); Thompson v. United States, 372 F.2d 826, 828 (5th Cir. 1967). 56