Court Opinion

ID: 9426345
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-02 23:17:37.743324+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:23:00.380558
License: Public Domain

Mr. Justice Stevens,
with whom Mr. Justice Stewart joins, concurring.
The statutory definition of the term “statement” was intended by Congress to describe material that could be fairly used to impeach the testimony of a witness. A major purpose of the statute was to exclude from that definition various kinds of material which lower federal courts had been requiring the Government to produce because they had misinterpreted the narrow holding of the Jencks case itself.1 That case, like the statute, applies only to material that may be used legitimately for impeachment.
The statutory definition is in two parts, encompassing originals of statements made by the witness (18 U. S. C. §3500 (e)(1)) and verbatim or substantially verbatim copies (§ 3500 (e) (2)). Whether a particular writing is an original or a copy, it is not a statutory “statement” unless it reflects the witness’ own words fully and without distortion.2 If it is truly an impeaching statement, *113it is in a form which either party could use to prevent the witness from testifying to facts inconsistent with those stated to the interviewer.3
Frequently such statements are in the form of narratives or summaries actually drafted by the interviewer *114and signed or otherwise unequivocally adopted or approved by the prospective witness. In such instances the document is equally a statement whether the interview was conducted by a layman or a lawyer. The question is simply whether the approval by the witness is sufficiently unambiguous to make it fair for either party at a subsequent trial to use that statement to refresh his recollection or to impeach his testimony.4
The writings which are made by a lawyer when he is outlining his examination of a witness are of a much different character and are intended to serve a different purpose. They may include his own impressions of the case, his proposed line of questioning, comments on his trial strategy, references to questions of admissibility, legal theory, and a host of other matters. Such comments in the prosecutor's notes may relate to the subject matter of the witness' testimony, and the witness may express approval of what the prosecutor has said about such matters. Nevertheless, it is perfectly clear that such comments by the prosecutor are not “statement [s] made by [the] witness'' within the meaning of § 3500 (e)(1). In short, more than relevance to the testimony and approval by the witness is necessary to make a writing a Jencks Act statement. It must first of all be the kind of factual narrative by the witness that is usable for impeachment.
If one of the prosecutor’s notes is that kind of factual comment, it is still not a statutory statement unless that specific note has been adopted or approved by the witness. For if a witness could testify, without fear of *115contradiction, that the words used by the prosecutor were not his own, the document would not impeach his testimony and could not properly be offered for that purpose. General testimony that some of the notes taken by the prosecutor during a lengthy interrogation were read back to the witness, and that the witness sometimes assented to the prosecutor’s version of what he said, would not justify a finding of approval of any particular note. Fairness to the witness demands a much stricter test of approval before he may be confronted with as-sertedly prior inconsistent statements.
Whether this requirement can be satisfied without the testimony of the prosecutor is a question that is not ripe for decision.5 The possibility of the need for such testimony is a matter which the trial court may appropriately consider in determining whether any specific note is producible. For nothing in the legislative history of the Act suggests that Congress intended to authorize cross-examination of the prosecutor by defense counsel. In order to avoid the risk of unseemly testimony by trial counsel and, more importantly, in order to avoid unfairness to the witness, any determination that a portion of the prosecutor’s notes is producible must be supported *116by a finding of unambiguous and specific approval by the witness.6
Since I do not understand these additional comments to be inconsistent with anything in the Court’s opinion, I join that opinion.

 See H. R. Rep. No. 700, 85th Cong., 1st Sess., 2-3 (1957); Palermo v. United States, 360 U. S. 343, 345-346, and n. 3.

 Congress was specifically concerned about the danger of distortion and misrepresentation inherent in a report which merely selects portions, albeit accurately, from a lengthy oral interview. We emphasized this concern in a discussion of the legislative history of § 3500 (e) (2) which is unquestionably relevant to the issue before us even though we are directly concerned with § 3500 (e) (1):
“It is clear that Congress was concerned that only those statements which could properly be called the witness’ own words should *113be made available to the defense for purposes of impeachment. It was important that the statement could fairly be deemed to reflect fully and without distortion what had been said to the government agent. Distortion can be a product of selectivity as well as the conscious or inadvertent infusion of the recorder’s opinions or impressions. It is clear from the continuous congressional emphasis on 'substantially verbatim recital,’ and ‘continuous, narrative statements made by the witness recorded verbatim, or nearly so . . . see Appendix B, post, p. 358, that the legislation was designed to eliminate the danger of distortion and misrepresentation inherent in a report which merely selects portions, albeit accurately, from a lengthy oral recital. Quoting out of context is one of the most frequent and powerful modes of misquotation. We think it consistent with this legislative history, and with the generally restrictive terms of the statutory provision, to require that summaries of an oral statement which evidence substantial selection of material, or which were prepared after the interview without the aid of complete notes, and hence rest on the memory of the agent, are not to be produced. Neither, of course, are statements which contain the agent’s interpretations or impressions.” Palermo v. United States, supra, at 352-353.

 Although typically at trial it is defense counsel who tries to impeach a Government witness, it is important to remember that there are many situations in which the prosecution may also have the right to confront a recalcitrant, forgetful, or perjurious witness with a prior statement in order to induce him to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. In deciding whether a writing is a Jeneks Act statement, it is therefore important for the district court to keep in mind the reason for its production.
“It has always been, and will remain, the practice of the FBI and every other Federal law enforcement agency to take written statements of important witnesses. This is vital not only to insure the accuracy of the statement at the time it is made but to tie the witness down so that he will stand by the statement which he has read and signed.” H. R. Rep. No. 700, supra, at 6.

 A summary of an interview with a witness becomes that witness’ own words only when adopted as such by the witness. Thus after a witness has authenticated or verified a summary it is unnecessary to determine whether it is "substantially verbatim” because by the terms of 18 U. S. C. § 3500 (e) (1) it has become the witness' own words.

 The problem is apt to arise when a witness has approved some but not all of what the prosecutor has said; for then it is necessary to ascertain which notes have been specifically approved. Normally that question would have to be answered on the basis of colloquy or testimony outside the presence of the jury. In such a hearing the notes could not be read to the witness without impairing their usefulness as impeaching evidence, see Campbell v. United States, 365 U. S. 85, 97; accordingly, there is a real danger that the lawyer’s testimony may be needed if the issue is in dispute. Moreover, a finding of approval by the judge in a proceeding outside the presence of the jury would not foreclose a denial of such approval by the witness when he is on the stand. In that event, only the prosecutor’s testimony or stipulation could qualify the document for use as impeaching evidence.

 In Palermo we emphasized the need for fairness to the witness: “One of the most important motive forces behind the enactment of this legislation was the fear that an expansive reading of Jencks would compel the undiscriminating production of agent’s summaries of interviews regardless of their character or completeness. Not only was it strongly feared that disclosure of memoranda containing the investigative agent’s interpretations and impressions might reveal the inner workings of the investigative process and thereby injure the national interest, but it was felt to be grossly unfair to allow the defense to use statements to impeach a witness which could not fairly be said to be the witness’ own rather than the product of the investigator’s selections, interpretations and interpolations.” 360 U. S., at 350.