Opinion ID: 1236539
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Letter to Kehr

Text: Smith also objects to the district court's decision to allow the government to impeach him with a letter that he wrote  but never sentto Kehr. He argues that the government failed to disclose this letter in violation of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16 and that the district court should have prohibited the government from using it at trial. Smith asserts that he was prejudiced by the use of the letter on cross-examination because, had he known about the letter earlier, his counsel would have asked him to explain it on direct examination, reducing its prejudicial impact. The government argues that its attorney maintained that he could not recall whether he turned the letter over to the defense at trial, and that, in any event, the district court's decision to allow it for impeachment purposes was not plainly erroneous. Assuming that the letter was withheld, it is troubling that this document was not provided to the defendant until the government used it at trial in contravention of Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, but it was not erroneous for the district court to allow it, because Smith was not prejudiced. See United States v. Warren, 454 F.3d 752, 760-61 (7th Cir. 2006). A Rule 16 violation prejudices a defendant only when he is unfairly surprised by the evidence and cannot adequately prepare his defense or when the violation has a substantial influence on the jury. See United States v. Stevens, 380 F.3d 1021, 1026 (7th Cir.2004). Smith testified on direct examination that he was no longer emotionally attached to Kehr when the bombing occurred. In the letter, dated May 12, 2003less than two months before the bombinghowever, Smith indicated otherwise. Smith argues that he wrote but did not send the letter because his feelings towards Kehr changed, and that he should have had the opportunity to explain this on direct examination to minimize the impact of the letter. But his counsel had the opportunity to elicit this testimony on redirect and chose not to do so. And when defense counsel finally raised an objection to the use of the letter a month after trial, he admitted that at trial he thought that the letter was helpful to Smith's case. It is hard to see how the use of a piece of evidence that both the prosecution and defense believed supported their theories constitutes error. Furthermore, there was ample evidence besides the letter demonstrating that Smith had a motive to hurt Bick. Smith has not shown that the government's use of this letter prejudiced him.