Court Opinion

ID: 9523259
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:37:47.951974+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:04:46.754909
License: Public Domain

Mr. JUSTICE GREEN, concurring in part and dissenting in part: The majority rules that defendant is entitled to a new trial in both cases because of the State’s failure to furnish discovery. I find the evidence withheld to be shown to be favorable to the defendant in the case involving the social security check and agree that a new trial should be granted there. I do not find the withheld evidence to be shown to be favorable to defendant in the case involving the Larwin check and disagree with the award of a new trial there. The majority conclude that to affirm in the Larwin check case would start a process which would eventually “nick away” at Supreme Court Rule 412(c) to the point “where no attorney will know what may or should be discoverable”. I respectfully submit that, to the contrary, the action of the majority in reversing does just that. Favorable use by the defendant of the withheld evidence in this case is very speculative. An equally speculative theory can be concocted to make favorable use of a wide variety of evidence. Prosecutors will have to be careful to see that their imagination is equal to that of defense counsel. If they conclude that the only safe policy is to give discovery of all material evidence, they may find that burdensome because, as we have ruled, an “open file” policy is insufficient. The majority recognize that favorable use by defendant of the information withheld is conjectural in the Larwin case. They counter with the quotation from Dixon to the effect that we should not concern ourselves with the use to which the evidence is to be put. The quotation would appear on its face to support their position, but the context in which it was made weakens that interpretation. In a murder prosecution, the State had withheld the name, and a statement, of an eyewitness. The statement substantially impeached the testimony of the State’s sole witness. On appeal the court stated that the withheld evidence was clearly favorable to the defense. The State had argued that even if this was so, disclosure given at the time of hearing on a post-trial motion cured any error. Later in the opinion the court made the quoted statement in answer to the State’s claim that error was cured. Subsequently, in Nichols the supreme court stated, “For there to have been a violation” of the Brady v. Maryland rule “it must be shown 0 0 0 that the evidence was favorable to the defendant.” 63 Ill. 2d 443, 446, 349 N.E.2d 40, 42-43. The majority apparently contend that the disclosure requirements under Rule 412(c) are similar to those for statements of witnesses under People v. Wolff (1960), 19 Ill. 2d 318, 167 N.E.2d 197. Since that decision a prosecutor is required to disclose to the accused all such statements if they are material and not privileged. Although the purpose of disclosing the statements is for use in impeaching prosecution witnesses, the statements need not be impeaching to require disclosure. Accordingly, in ruling on questions of disclosure the court does not concern itself with whether the statement impeaches. The defense is given the opportunity to make its own determination as to whether to attempt to use the statement for that purpose. By the express terms of Rule 412(c) and the clear language of Nichols, favorability to the accused is a requirement of discoverability of the type of information in issue here. Evidence is favorable only if there is a reasonable likelihood of its beneficial use, and the court has the responsibility of determining whether such a showing has been made. In Brady v. Maryland, Nichols, and Dixon the withheld matter was found to be clearly favorable to the accused. In the instant case involving the Larwin check, I consider any favorable use of the withheld information to be even more unlikely than do the majority. The undisputed testimony of three witnesses was that defendant had said that he cashed the check for a customer and placed it with the firm’s receipts. The statement would clearly imply that the check had been endorsed. Even if the trier of fact gave credence to the theory that the check was unendorsed, it would also have to give credence to a theory that James Skelton, having later access to the check, placed a forged endorsement on the check himself. If information as to Skelton’s existence was required to be disclosed under Rule 412(c) as to this case, then the State was also required to disclose the names of all known persons at the depositing bank who also had access to the check and could have placed a forged endorsement on it. Under the ruling here it would seem rather difficult for a prosecutor in this case to determine what information was required to be presented under Rule 412(c). It is worthy of note that not until appeal was taken did defense counsel conceive of the theory that the rule had been violated. The trial judge had no opportunity to pass on such a contention. The majority does not directly say that the evidence withheld in the Larwin case is shown to be favorable to the accused. In view of the extremely conjectural theory upon which it might bear, I conclude that it has not been so shown, and I accordingly dissent from the ruling reversing the sentence and conviction in that case, No. 13078. I concur in the reversal and remandment in No. 13077.