Opinion ID: 867374
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure to disclose allegedly exculpatory material.

Text: ¶ 33 Garza alleges that the State improperly withheld evidence about Larry Franco's history as a confidential informant (CI) for MCSO and the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS). [T]he 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. . . . Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 88, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963).
¶ 34 Garza has not demonstrated that any MCSO records were withheld. After an MCSO deputy testified that forms concerning Larry's service as a CI in 1994 were not in previously disclosed materials, Garza asked the trial court to order disclosure of all MCSO files. The State replied that everything had already been disclosed and suggested that the missing records may have been purged. The trial court then ordered the State to ensure complete disclosure. The MCSO files were never again discussed on the record. Thus, nothing in the record indicates that additional MCSO documents regarding Larry exist.
¶ 35 Larry served as a CI for DPS in undercover drug operations in the early 1990s. Garza moved before trial for discovery of any DPS records on Larry. The superior court denied the motion. We review such discovery rulings for abuse of discretion. Roque, 213 Ariz. at 205 ¶ 21, 141 P.3d at 380. ¶ 36 The superior court did not abuse its discretion here. Larry's relationship with DPS had ended years before the murders, and Garza made no showing that DPS was involved in the investigation of the murders. In any event, Garza established through the testimony of a DPS detective that Larry was an informant during the early 1990s.