Opinion ID: 552387
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Denial of Defendant's Discovery Motion

Text: 17 In a pretrial motion, defendant requested copies of certain reports based on interviews that the FBI conducted with Dennis Todd and Patricia Borch (Borch), Dennis Todd's girlfriend, characterizing these reports as Brady material. 2 The government raised three objections to this motion: (1) the information contained in these reports did not exculpate defendant; (2) the subjects of the interviews had made their statements based on a promise of confidentiality; and (3) defendant knew that Dennis Todd or Borch might have information favorable to his defense and had access to them. Notwithstanding its objections, the government made these reports available to the District Court for an en camera review to determine if they contained exculpatory information inaccessible to defendant through other means. The District Court denied defendant's motion. The District Court reasoned that Brady applied to situations in which the government concealed exculpatory evidence from a defendant. In the instant case, defendant was aware of the existence of the potentially exculpatory evidence and had access to the witnesses. 18 The thrust of defendant's argument is that the awareness of exculpatory statements made by certain individuals and access to such individuals is insufficient to satisfy Brady under certain circumstances. Specifically, this alternative is insufficient when a subject's current recollection of a particular act potentially lacks the level of detail contained in written reports based on prior interviews conducted closer in time to the act in question. The FBI interviewed Dennis Todd and Borch a few months after defendant was indicted. Defendant did not have the opportunity to interview Dennis Todd and Borch until approximately one year after the indictment. This time interval, according to defendant, created the potential for Dennis Todd or Borch to omit, intentionally or because of the inability to remember, statements that tend to exculpate defendant. Thus, defendant argues, Brady requires that defendant be allowed to discover the FBI reports. 19 In Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), the United States Supreme Court established a duty upon the prosecution to disclose to a defendant evidence that is both favorable to a defendant and material to his guilt or punishment. The Supreme Court has stated: 20 The Brady rule is based on the requirement of due process. Its purpose is not to displace the adversary system as the primary means by which truth is uncovered, but to ensure that a miscarriage of justice does not occur. Thus, the prosecutor is not required to deliver his entire file to defense counsel, but only to disclose evidence favorable to the accused that, if suppressed, would deprive defendant of a fair trial.... 21 United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 675, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 3379, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985) (footnotes omitted). The Supreme Court has made clear that the Brady rule is not an evidentiary rule which grants broad discovery powers to a defendant and that [t]here is no general constitutional right to discovery in a criminal case. Weatherford v. Bursey, 429 U.S. 545, 559, 97 S.Ct. 837, 845, 51 L.Ed.2d 30 (1977). Rather, it safeguards defendant's right to due process of law. Hence, a prosecutor will violate his constitutional duty of disclosure only if his omission is of sufficient significance to result in the denial of defendant's right to a fair trial. United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 108, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 2399, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976). 22 We conclude that the government fulfilled its obligations under Brady. To be sure, the reports were not turned over to defendant. Yet, defendant was made aware prior to trial that Dennis Todd and Borch had information that possibly could exculpate defendant. Defendant had the opportunity to interview both Dennis Todd and Borch. Indeed, Dennis Todd testified favorably on behalf of defendant, claiming that defendant was unaware that he was storing drugs in defendant's basement. Hence, defendant was aware of the essential facts that would enable him to take advantage of the exculpatory evidence. See United States v. Wilson, 901 F.2d 378 (4th Cir.1990) (holding that no Brady violation occurred on account of the failure to turn over witness' statements because defendant was free to question witness); United States v. Hicks, 848 F.2d 1, 4 (1st Cir.1988) (holding that government need not disclose details of a witness' grand jury testimony when defendant is aware of the grand jury witness and has access to interview that witness and have the witness testify at trial); United States v. Grossman, 843 F.2d 78, 85 (2d Cir.1988) (concluding that no Brady violation occurred when defendant  'knew or should have known the essential facts permitting him to take advantage of any exculpatory information' ) (quoting United States v. Gaggi, 811 F.2d 47, 59 (2d Cir.1987)), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 1040, 109 S.Ct. 864, 102 L.Ed.2d 988 (1989); United States v. Davis, 787 F.2d 1501, 1505 (11th Cir.) (holding that Brady does not apply to situations where the evidence is available to defendant from another source), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 852, 107 S.Ct. 184, 93 L.Ed.2d 118 (1986). 23 Moreover, the government tendered these reports to the District Court for an en camera review to determine if they contained exculpatory evidence that defendant would be unable to discover through his own interviews. 3 Given this procedural safeguard, we think that the defendant's due process rights were protected adequately notwithstanding his inability to discover the FBI reports. Accordingly, defendant has failed to prove that the suppression of the FBI reports undermined the integrity of the trial proceedings or its outcome. See Cruz v. Scully, 716 F.Supp. 766, 769 (S.D.N.Y.1989); United States v. Williams, 529 F.Supp. 1085, 1104 (E.D.N.Y.1981). Finally, our own review of these reports confirms that defendant was not prejudiced by his inability to discover them.