Opinion ID: 1607200
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 19

Heading: Disclosure of Witness Statement

Text: Smith contends that the trial court erred in not granting a new trial based on the nondisclosure of a new oral statement made by Mark Roundtree in July 2004. Prior to the penalty phase, the State filed an amended discovery exhibit, which revealed that Roundtree made statements to polygraph operator George Slattery in July 2004. In this statement, Roundtree denied committing the murder of Leon Hadley (a murder he was convicted of in September 1996 and given a sentence of life in prison), stated that Smith killed Hadley, and revealed that Roundtree had previously implicated himself in Hadley's homicide so that he could serve as a witness at Smith's trial and possibly garner some sentencing concession. Based on this disclosure, Smith filed a motion for a new trial, arguing that the State had committed a violation of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), by failing to disclose this statement before trial. The State asserts that the statement was not Brady material, but if the State had a duty to disclose it, there was no prejudice to Smith's defense by its late disclosure. Under Brady, the State violates a defendant's due process rights when it fails to disclose evidence that is favorable to the defendant and is material to either his guilt or the sentence imposed. This includes both exculpatory evidence and impeachment evidence. The evidence is material if there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A `reasonable probability' is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 682, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985). Mark Roundtree was listed as a State witness in the guilt phase of Smith's trial. However, Roundtree was never called to testify by the State or the defense. Roundtree made several statements about the Hadley murder prior to Smith's trial. Copies of these statements were disclosed to the defense before Smith's trial. In his April 1996 statement, Roundtree denied any involvement in the Hadley murder and stated that he did not know who had shot Hadley. Slattery reported that the polygraph indicated deception in Roundtree's negative response to the question do you know who shot Leon Hadley. On January 25, 2001, Roundtree gave two more statements to Slattery. [9] At that time, Roundtree had been convicted of the Hadley murder and had completed all appeal and postconviction proceedings. In the first statement on January 25, 2001, Roundtree stated that Smith had told him about the Hadley shooting and Smith had admitted that he, Phil White, and Kelvin Cook were in the car and participated in Hadley's shooting. Roundtree then stopped his statement to Slattery in order to speak to Detective Alphonso. Roundtree then made a second statement, in which he stated that he had also been in the car during the Hadley shooting and had shot Hadley with an AK-47. Roundtree made another oral statement in July 2004, in which he disavowed being in the car during the Hadley shooting. Roundtree explained that he had said he was involved in the murder in order to make himself a better State witness for Smith's trial in hopes of getting a reduced sentence. The July 2004 statement was not exculpatory to Smith as Roundtree still maintained that Smith had admitted shooting Hadley. The trial court heard argument on the defense motion for a new trial on February 7, 2005, before the penalty phase commenced. The State explained that there had not been a written statement or report regarding Roundtree's July 2004 statement to Slattery. The State argued that Roundtree had given multiple prior inconsistent statements regarding the Hadley murder, that the defense always knew about these other statements, and that the defense had told the jury that Roundtree had been convicted of Hadley's murder. The State also noted that Roundtree was never called as a witness in Smith's case. Instead, the State had relied on the testimony of Phil White, the driver of the car during Hadley's shooting, and Smith's own admissions to Tricia Geter about his involvement in Hadley's murder. Despite defense counsel's argument that Roundtree's July 2004 statement would have supported the defense theory that the State witnesses were liars who were perjuring themselves to secure favorable treatment from the State, the court ruled that another inconsistent statement from Roundtree was not significant. We conclude that Roundtree's July 2004 statement does not meet the Brady materiality standard. There is no reasonable probability that had this new statement, which was not exculpatory to Smith and had been preceded by multiple prior inconsistent statements by the same person, been disclosed to the defense the result of the proceeding would have been different. Thus, our confidence in the outcome of the proceeding has not been undermined. However, we still must consider whether the State's failure to disclose this new statement constituted a violation of Florida's discovery rules and, if so, whether the violation materially hindered the defendant's trial preparation or strategy. Scipio v. State, 928 So.2d 1138, 1150 (Fla.2006) (quoting State v. Schopp, 653 So.2d 1016, 1020 (Fla.1995)). This analysis does not focus on whether the discovery violation would have made a difference in the verdict, but whether the defense was procedurally prejudiced. Id. Under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220(b), the prosecutor has an obligation to provide discovery. Rule 3.220(j) imposes a continuing duty to disclose. These rules of criminal procedure provide in pertinent part: (b) Prosecutor's Discovery Obligation. (1) Within 15 days after service of the Notice of Discovery, the prosecutor shall serve a written Discovery Exhibit which shall disclose to the defendant and permit the defendant to inspect, copy, test, and photograph the following information and material within the state's possession and control: (A) a list of the names and addresses of all persons known to the prosecutor to have information that may be relevant to any offense charged or any defense thereto.... .... (B) The statement of any person whose name is furnished in compliance with the preceding subdivision. The term statement as used herein includes a written statement made by the person and signed or otherwise adopted or approved by the person and also includes any statement of any kind or manner made by the person and written or recorded or summarized in any writing or recording.... .... (j) Continuing Duty to Disclose. If, subsequent to compliance with the rules, a party discovers additional witnesses or material that the party would have been under a duty to disclose or produce at the time of the previous compliance, the party shall promptly disclose or produce the witnesses or material in the same manner as required under these rules for initial discovery. Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.220(b)(1), (j). However, the failure to disclose Roundtree's July 2004 to the defense did not materially hinder Smith's trial preparation or strategy. At trial, defense counsel was able to raise questions as to the veracity of the witnesses who testified against Smith, was able to elicit that various witnesses had perjured themselves by lying in their deposition testimony, and was able to show that some witnesses were testifying as part of a plea agreement. Further, even if Smith had called Roundtree as a witness on the basis of the July 2004 statement, Smith would have had an unreliable witness who now claimed that Smith, and not Roundtree, killed Hadley, and who had given various inconsistent statements about the murder. Further, Roundtree's admission that he was willing to lie and implicate himself in a murder in order to get a reduced sentence does not prove that the other witnesses were lying at Smith's trial. In fact, at trial Smith did use Roundtree's conviction to suggest that several witnesses were lying about Smith's involvement in Hadley's murder in order to get Roundtree released. This is quite different from Scipio, where the medical examiner investigator materially recanted his prior statement about finding a gun under the victim's body. The defense in Scipio intended to rely heavily on the investigator's testimony to support its theory of self-defense. Had the defense in Scipio been informed about this change in testimony, it could have pursued a different theory of defense. Here, the undisclosed statement was not an alteration that impeded the defense trial strategy or preparation. Thus, Smith was not entitled to a new trial on this basis.