Opinion ID: 535245
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: confidential informant privilege

Text: 84 During Juan Herrero's detention hearing an FBI agent was asked a question which prompted a government objection and a request for a sidebar conference. During the sidebar conference between the judge, the government's attorneys and Herrero's attorney, the government represented that an answer to Herrero's question would reveal the identity of an individual whom the FBI agent had interviewed with a promise of confidentiality. This particular informant in this factual situation had been promised that both the fact that the interview had taken place and the substance of the interview would not be disclosed to third parties unless the informant made statements which tended to exculpate a criminal defendant. In the course of the sidebar conference the government attorneys disclosed the identity of the informant and the fact that the informant had made statements concerning Herrero's participation in the conspiracy. In response to a government request, the court issued a protective order forbidding Herrero's counsel from revealing to Herrero the matters discussed at the sidebar. In particular, the protective order forbade revelation of either the fact that the government interviewed the informant or the substance of the interview. Herrero alleges that the district court erred in issuing this protective order. 85 We recently discussed the history and policies underlying the confidential informant privilege in Dole v. Local 1942, IBEW, 870 F.2d 368, 372 (7th Cir.1989): 86 The doctrine of the informer's privilege is not a recent phenomenon, having its roots in the English common law. The underlying concern of the doctrine is the common-sense notion that individuals who offer their assistance to a government investigation may later be targeted for reprisal from those upset by the investigation. The purpose of the privilege is the furtherance and protection of the public interest in effective law enforcement. The privilege recognizes the responsibility of citizens to cooperate with law enforcement officials and, by providing anonymity, encourages them to assume this responsibility. With the threat of reprisal real and unprotected against, well-intentioned citizens may hesitate or decline to assist the government in tracking down wrongdoers.... The most effective means of protection, and by derivation the most effective means of fostering citizen cooperation, is bestowing anonymity on the informant, thus maintaining the status of the informant's strategic position and also encouraging others similarly situated who have not yet offered their assistance. 87 (Citations omitted). We went on to discuss the matters a district court must consider in determining whether the privilege applies: 88 When asserting the privilege the government need not make a threshold showing that reprisal or retaliation is likely, because of the significant policy consideration behind the privilege, as well as the difficulty of such proof. Rather, the government is granted the privilege as of right. But the privilege is qualified; it yields when the identification of the informant or of a communication is essential to a balanced measure of the issues and the fair administration of justice. Roviaro [v. United States, 353 U.S. 53, 60-61, 77 S.Ct. 623, 627-28, 1 L.Ed.2d 639 (1957) ] (Where the disclosure of the informer's identity, or the contents of the communication is relevant and helpful to the defense of an accused, the privilege must give way). The party opposing the privilege may overcome it upon showing his need for the information outweighs the government's entitlement to the privilege. The district judge must take a balanced approach and in the end decide whether the party opposing the privilege has credible need for the information in order to defend itself in the action--a need greater than the important policy consideration underlying the privilege. The privilege will not yield to permit a mere fishing expedition, nor upon bare speculation that the information may possibly prove useful. 89 Local 1942, 870 F.2d at 372-73 (citations omitted). 90 Herrero asserts that the government waived the confidential informant privilege when it disclosed the informer's identity and the subject matter of his statements to Herrero's counsel during the sidebar. The informant privilege covers both the informant's identity and the contents of his communications with the government if those contents tend to reveal the informant's identity. See Roviaro v. United States, 353 U.S. 53, 59-60, 77 S.Ct. 623, 627-28, 1 L.Ed.2d 639 (1957). It is true that once the identity of the informer has been disclosed to those who would have cause to resent the communication, the privilege is no longer applicable, Roviaro v. United States, 353 U.S. at 60, 77 S.Ct. at 627 (emphasis added), as the purpose of the privilege is to maintain the Government's channels of communication by shielding the identity of an informer from those who would have cause to resent his conduct. Id. at 60 n. 8, 77 S.Ct. at 627 n. 8. When an attorney takes the oath to practice law he becomes an officer of the court, as well as an advocate, and is thus bound to uphold and abide by the orders and rulings of the court under threat of serious sanction. We are not of the opinion that limited, circumscribed disclosure of an informant's identity and/or the substance of the informant's statements to a criminal defendant's counsel during trial is, in itself, disclosure to one who would have cause to resent [the informant's] conduct. Id. at 60 n. 8, 77 S.Ct. at 627 n. 8. It is the defendant, in particular, and not his legal representative, who has a personal stake in the informant's identity and information and who would likely resent these actions. Herrero appropriately notes that an attorney's duty to provide an adequate defense for his client would ordinarily require that the attorney share this information with his client, and that usually is the accepted fact, but that is not always the case as in this factual scenario. This is precisely the reason the protective order directing counsel not to disclose the identity of the informant was necessary. If the court had not forbidden Herrero's attorney from disclosing the information to Herrero revealed in the sidebar conference, a waiver of the confidential informant privilege would obviously have resulted. 8 91 Herrero also contends that the protective order's restriction upon attorney-client communications infringed upon his rights to due process of law and effective assistance of counsel. Because it is a ridiculous argument, we have difficulty conceiving how an attorney's knowledge of privileged information impairs his client's defense, and, in particular, when it concerns a witness who did not even testify and thus offered no evidence against the defendant. As the government notes, under the terms of the protective order Herrero and his attorney remained free even to call the informant as a witness if they desired. The only requirements of the protective order were that Herrero's attorney refrain from disclosing to the defendant or anyone the informant's identity, and the fact that the informant had spoken with the government as well as the substance of his conversation with the government. Herrero has failed to establish that his rights to due process of law or to effective assistance of counsel were impaired as a result of the district court's protective order. 92 Going beyond his attack on the protective order, Herrero additionally contends that due process requires disclosure of the confidential informant's statement and identity. In Roviaro the Supreme Court observed that Where the disclosure of an informant's identity, or of the contents of his communication, is relevant and helpful to the defense of an accused, or is essential to a fair determination of a cause, the privilege must give way. Roviaro, 353 U.S. at 60-61, 77 S.Ct. at 627-28. The Supreme Court went on to state that: 93 We believe that no fixed rule with respect to disclosure is justifiable. The problem is one that calls for balancing the public interest in protecting the flow of information against the individual's right to prepare his defense. Whether a proper balance renders nondisclosure erroneous must depend on the particular circumstances of each case, taking into consideration the crime charged, the possible defenses, the possible significance of the informer's testimony, and other relevant factors. 94 Id. at 62, 77 S.Ct. at 628-29. 95 Herrero alleges a number of different areas relevant to his case upon which the informer might have spoken with the government. The difficulty with his position is that it is most likely that any information the informer would have provided and which Herrero now seeks, would, in fact, have damaged, rather than assisted, Herrero. Even more significantly, the fact that the informer was never called as a witness at trial means that the information provided the government was not relevant to the government's case nor would it have been helpful for impeachment purposes. In view of the information being irrelevant and/or damaging to Herrero's defense, we are convinced that Herrero's interest in disclosure of the informant's identity and statements did not outweigh the public interest in protecting the flow of information that underlies the informer's privilege. The public interest in non-disclosure is especially strong because the violent and clandestine nature of drug conspiracies results in serious danger, ofttimes even death, to a confidential informant if his cover is broken. We are convinced that the district court did not commit error in issuing its protective order preserving the confidential informant privilege in this matter.