Court Opinion

ID: 9479158
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 07:10:13.392843+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:46:51.797432
License: Public Domain

PREGERSON, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
I dissent. The Jencks Act requires the government to produce any witness’s statement related to his or her testimony at *769trial. See 18 U.S.C. § 3500(e) (1982); United States v. Michaels, 796 F.2d 1112, 1116 (9th Cir.1986). In the present case, the government produced typed memoranda in response to the district court's order that the government make available Jencks Act materials to the defendant. These typed memoranda were based on handwritten notes taken by government agents during interviews with potential witnesses. I find merit in Pisello’s argument that because the typed memoranda contain Jencks statements, the handwritten notes from which the memoranda derive also must contain Jencks statements. At the very least, this case should be remanded to the district court for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the withheld notes qualify as Jencks Act materials. At such time, the district court could determine, based on an in camera inspection of the handwritten notes, whether the handwritten notes are Jencks Act materials. See United States v. Johnson, 521 F.2d 1318, 1320 (9th Cir.1975) (Sneed, J.) (holding that the district court erred in refusing to compel production of handwritten notes because “it acted without inspecting them, in camera or otherwise.”).
The majority opinion rests its conclusion that the district court acted properly in regard to the handwritten notes “on the assumption that the government will proceed fairly in its handling of Jencks material.” Majority Opinion at 768. Yet the majority offers no legal authority in support of this assumption. Rather, the majority seeks to justify its position by the rationale that unless courts assume that the government acts fairly in handling Jencks materials, the rights of the accused and the efficient administration of justice will be jeopardized. Id.
The proposition that faith in the fairness of the government’s conduct will protect the rights of the accused seems to me hard to sell. Moreover, we have stated that questions concerning Jencks materials are not for the government to resolve. Johnson, 521 F.2d at 1320.