Opinion ID: 519281
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Materiality Requirement

Text: 12 In Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 1196-97, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), the Supreme Court held that 13 the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or punishment. 14 The proper standard of materiality must reflect the overriding concern with finding a defendant guilty only if proven beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 112, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 2401, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976). 15 Concerning the definition of material, the Court has noted that[t]he mere possibility than an item of undisclosed information might have helped the defense, or might have affected the outcome of the trial, does not establish materiality in the constitutional sense.... A fair analysis of the holding in Brady indicates that implicit in the requirement of materiality is a concern that the suppressed evidence might have affected the outcome of the trial. Agurs, 427 U.S. at 104, 109-10, 96 S.Ct. at 2400. 16 Furthermore, to warrant a new trial, the new evidence must not be merely cumulative or impeaching. United States v. Krasny, 607 F.2d 840, 843 (9th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 445 U.S. 942, 100 S.Ct. 1337, 63 L.Ed.2d 775 (1980); see also United States v. Lopez, 803 F.2d 969, 977 (9th Cir.1986); cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1030, 107 S.Ct. 1959, 95 L.Ed.2d 530 (1987). 17