Court Opinion

ID: 9785066
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 21:02:04.226918+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:36:04.606304
License: Public Domain

FISHER, Associate Judge,
dissenting:
When analyzing appellant’s claim that the government violated its obligations under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), it is important to keep two points firmly in mind. First, appellant does not deny that the videotape itself was disclosed in a timely fashion; he concedes that defense counsel “had received from the government, and carefully reviewed, Ryan Lindsey’s videotaped police statement.” Second, although he vigorously complains about the delayed disclosure of Taylor’s grand jury testimony, appellant made effective use of that transcript the very next day. Nevertheless, appellant asserts that the government is responsible for (the government caused) defense counsel’s failure to introduce the portion of the Lindsey videotape at issue here.
*1124The trial court had a contrary view of this fact-bound question, and its judgment is amply supported by the record. In my opinion, the majority reaches the wrong conclusion by applying the wrong standard of review.
I. Background to the Brady Claim
More than a year before trial, Mr. Miller asked the government to disclose all exculpatory information, including “any deseription(s) of the perpetrator of the alleged offense which in some material respect ... differs from Mr. Miller” and “[a]ny prior inconsistent, non-corroborative, or other witness statements which the witnesses] trial testimony will not reflect.” Mr. Taylor, who testified at trial that the shooter held the gun with his right hand, told the grand jury that the shooter had used his left hand. The government disclosed this grand jury testimony to defense counsel on the evening before opening statements were scheduled to begin, in a set of Jencks Act disclosures.1
The defense used Mr. Taylor’s grand jury testimony the next afternoon. After Mr. Taylor testified that the shooter had used his right hand, the defense impeached Taylor with his prior testimony that the shooter had used his left. When the government inquired further on redirect the next morning, the defense impeached Taylor on this issue a second time. Although defense counsel sought sanctions for the delay in disclosing the grand jury transcript, they had made no request to delay their examination of Mr. Taylor. The trial court commented that “had you requested that Mr. Taylor’s examination be delayed so you could work it in, I would have considered it. I saw no evidence whatsoever that you were unable to use [the grand jury transcript] effectively in the examination of Mr. Taylor.” When the issue arose again the following week, the trial judge commented that the defense had made “very effective use” of the grand jury testimony in cross-examining Taylor on the “left-handed versus right-handed” issue.
Despite cross-examining Mr. Taylor on the first day of testimony about which hand the shooter had used, the defense did not raise the issue of Mr. Lindsey’s handedness 2 until a week later, on the afternoon of the last day of testimony. After Mr. Lindsey pointed to an exhibit, defense counsel asked that the record reflect that he had used his left hand. The prosecutor, who had not seen which hand the witness had used, objected on relevance grounds and was overruled. Approximately eighteen questions later, Mr. Lindsey again pointed at the exhibit. This time the court directed that the record reflect that Lindsey had used his right hand, a point the defense conceded. However, the judge *1125also stated that he was not certain whether Lindsey had used his left hand on the first occasion and told the jurors that their recollection would control.
Defense counsel did not ask Mr. Lindsey which hand he had pointed with, or whether he was left-handed. That same afternoon the defense rested, the trial judge started final jury instructions, and he released Mr. Lindsey from high-intensity supervision.3 . That night, defense counsel once again reviewed the videotape of Mr. Lindsey’s interrogation by the police and saw that Lindsey had signed his Miranda waiver card with his left hand.
The next morning defense counsel moved to reopen evidence in order to show that portion of the videotape, claiming that the government’s delay in disclosing the grand jury testimony of Timothy Taylor prevented them from recognizing the videotape’s relevance as demonstrative evidence suggesting that Mr. Lindsey was the shooter. The government objected that admitting the videotape after jury instructions would call undue attention to the matter, and that the government would need to recall Lindsey, who had been released. See supra note 3. Noting that the videotape had been in the defense’s possession since well before trial, that excerpts from the videotape had already been played during trial, that the issue of which hand the shooter used had been raised prior to Lindsey’s appearance on the stand, that the defense had failed to ask Lindsey about his handedness, that the government would be prejudiced by unfairly highlighting the video, and that the government would not be able to ask Mr. Lindsey questions about which hand he used for what purposes, the judge denied the motion.
II. Brady and Disclosures Prior to Trial — Governing Principles
Due process is violated where “evidence ... material either to guilt or to punishment” is suppressed by the prosecution. Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. at 87, 83 S.Ct. 1194. “It is now well settled that the prosecution must disclose exculpatory material ‘at such a time as to allow the defense to use the favorable material effectively in the preparation and presentation of its case, even if satisfaction of this criterion requires pretrial disclosure.’ ” Edelen v. United States, 627 A.2d 968, 970 (D.C.1993) (quoting United States v. Pollack, 175 U.S.App.D.C. 227, 236, 534 F.2d 964, 973 (1976)).
“There are three components of a true Brady violation: The evidence at issue must be favorable to the accused, either because it is exculpatory, or because it is impeaching; that evidence must have been suppressed by the State, either willfully or inadvertently; and prejudice must have ensued.” Strickler v. Greene, 527 U.S. 263, 281-82, 119 S.Ct. 1936, 144 L.Ed.2d 286 (1999). Materiality, “hence prejudice,” Bennett v. United States, 763 A.2d 1117, 1125 n. 9 (D.C.2000), is shown “when there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed, the result of the proceeding would have been different.” Cone v. Bell, — U.S. -, 129 S.Ct. 1769, 1783, 173 L.Ed.2d 701 (2009).
It is appellant’s burden to establish each of these three prongs. United States v. Wright, 506 F.3d 1293, 1301 (10th Cir. *11262007); Gillard v. Mitchell, 445 F.3d 883, 894 (6th Cir.2006); Fullwood v. Lee, 290 F.3d 663, 685 (4th Cir.2002). If evidence is not exculpatory (or impeaching), there is no Brady violation.4 If the evidence is not material, there is no Brady violation.5 And if exculpatory evidence was not suppressed, the Brady doctrine was not violated.6
Before applying these principles, I feel obliged to comment on thé majority’s quotations from" the ABA Standards and the United States Attorneys’ Manual. The discussions of the Brady doctrine in these sources do not properly guide- our analysis here. Compliance with the Brady doctrine is a requirement of due process and it is for the courts, not a voluntary bar association (no matter how prominent or respected), to determine the scope of that constitutional obligation. As the Supreme Court has explained, “the rule in Bagley [7] (and, hence, in Brady) requires less of the prosecution than the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice.... ” Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419, 437, 115 S.Ct. 1555, 131 L.Ed.2d 490 (1995). Indeed, as the Chief Justice cautioned in similar circumstances, “[t]he ABA standards are wholly irrelevant to the disposition of this case, and the majority’s passing citation of them should not be taken to suggest otherwise.” Cone v. Bell, 129 S.Ct. at 1787 (Chief Justice Roberts, concurring in the judgment).8
The United States Attorneys’ Manual (USAM) provides internal guidance to Department of Justice employees, but it does “not create enforceable rights for criminal defendants.” United States v. Wilson, 413 F.3d 382, 389 (3rd Cir.2005);9 accord, United States v. Blackley, 334 U.S.App.D.C. 306, 311-12, 167 F.3d 543, 548-49 (1999); United States v. Lee, 274 F.3d 485, 493 (8th Cir.2001). See United States v. Caceres, 440 U.S. 741, 99 S.Ct. 1465, 59 L.Ed.2d 733 (1979). “As [with the IRS guidelines] in Caceres, the guideline[s] [of the Department of Justice are] of the kind to be enforced internally by a governmental department, and not by courts.” In re Grand Jury Proceedings No. 92-4, 42 F.3d 876, 880 (4th Cir.1994) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
None of this is to suggest in the slightest that prosecutors should disregard the *1127sound policies set forth in the United States Attorneys’ Manual or that they may begrudgingly apply the Brady doctrine. It is important, however, that we accurately identify the governing principles before setting out to determine whether the requirements of Brady have been violated in this case.
III. Delay May Amount to Suppression
Even if the government has disclosed exculpatory evidence in its possession, a defendant may succeed in establishing that suppression occurred if the disclosure came so late that he was unable to use the information effectively. See United States v. Douglas, 525 F.3d 225, 245 (2d Cir.2008) (“Brady material that is not ‘disclos[ed] in sufficient time to afford the defense an opportunity for use’ may be deemed suppressed within the meaning of the Brady doctrine.”) (quoting Leka v. Portuondo, 257 F.3d 89, 103 (2d Cir.2001)); Boss v. Pierce, 263 F.3d 734, 740 (7th Cir.2001) (“Evidence is suppressed for Brady purposes only if (1) the prosecution failed to disclose evidence that it or law enforcement was aware of before it was too late for the defendant to make use of the evidence, and (2) the evidence was not otherwise available to the defendant through the exercise of reasonable diligence.”). “But ‘as long as a defendant possesses Brady evidence in time for its effective use, the government has not deprived the defendant of due process of law simply because it did not produce the evidence sooner.’ ” Douglas, 525 F.3d at 245 (quoting In re United States (Coppa), 267 F.3d 132, 144 (2d Cir.2001)).
An appellant does not carry his burden of proving that evidence was suppressed merely by showing that he did not use the evidence effectively. See, e.g., Collier v. Davis, 301 F.3d 843, 850-51 (7th Cir.2002) (Petitioner did not meet his burden of proving suppression where the government disclosed prior to trial the possibility of “an implied bilateral understanding of prosecutorial leniency” toward a witness, and the defendant “could have fully explored this topic in cross-examination of [the witness] at trial — but did not do so.”); United States v. Dean, 312 U.S.App.D.C. 75, 99, 55 F.3d 640, 664 (1995) (Appellant did not show that delayed disclosures had “materially prejudiced her defense” where she “effectively used, or had an opportunity to use, all the late-disclosed or unsegregated exculpatory evidence at trial.”) (emphasis added). Typically, cases involving delayed disclosure present an issue of causation: if the delay in disclosing evidence did not cause the failure to present it, the evidence was not suppressed. E.g., United States v. O’Hara, 301 F.3d 563, 569 (7th Cir.2002) (“The evidence at issue here was not suppressed at all. Though discovered during trial, O’Hara had sufficient time to make use of the material disclosed.”); United States v. Walton, 217 F.3d 443, 451 (7th Cir.2000) (“[W]e are of the opinion that the government’s delayed disclosure of the remaining phone records did not come so late as to deny [appellant] ... the evidence’s ‘effective use’ at trial, had he chosen to do so.”).
IV. The Nature of Our Inquiry
When a Brady claim rests on delayed disclosure, courts, including this one, frequently resolve the issue by focusing on whether the delay was “material” or “prejudicial.” See, e.g., James v. United States, 580 A.2d 636, 644 (D.C.1990) (“The issue here is ... whether the timing of the government’s disclosure ... violated appellant’s due process rights because the timing of the disclosure was ‘material’ to the outcome.”); Bellanger v. United States, 548 A.2d 501, 503 (D.C.1988) (denying Brady claim because “appellant has not demonstrated any prejudice by the delay in receiving [the disclosure]”); United States v. Burke, 571 F.3d 1048, 1056 *1128(10th Cir.2009) (“To justify imposition of a remedy, the defense must articulate to the district court the reasons why the delay should be regarded as materially prejudicial.”)- In substance, this approach conflates two prongs of the Brady analysis: (1) whether the government’s delay in disclosing the evidence is the reason it was not presented or was not used effectively, and (2) whether the defendant was prejudiced (whether there is a “reasonable probability ... that the outcome of the proceeding would have been different” had exculpatory evidence been presented to the jury). As discussed, the former inquiry is another way. of asking whether the evidence was suppressed. Determining the answer to that question is predominantly a fact-bound inquiry.
We confronted a similar issue in Curry v. United States, 658 A.2d 193 (D.C.1995), where the government disclosed a witness’s statement two days before the initial trial date. Id. at 195. Defense counsel was unable to locate the witness, and he “argued that if timely disclosure had been made, the defense could probably have located Jones [the witness] and presented his testimony at trial.” Id. at 196. However, the trial judge found “that even if the government had disclosed Jones’ statement to the defense soon after the return of the indictment, such disclosure would have made no difference, for Jones had already left the area by then and did not wish to be located.” Id. at 197. Recognizing that “[t]he judge’s finding was essentially a factual one,” we acknowledged our obligation to “sustain it if there is evidence in the record to support it.” Id. at 198 (citing D.C.Code § 17-305). We could not say the finding was clearly erroneous and therefore held that there was no Brady violation. Id.
Likewise, in Edelen v. United States, 627 A.2d 968 (D.C.1993), the defendant argued that he was entitled to a new trial “because the prosecution provided him with requested exculpatory materials too late for their effective use at trial, and because the trial judge refused to take remedial action to protect [his] rights.” Id. at 969. “We emphasize[d] that Ede-len’s claim of a Brady violation [was] not a frivolous one[,]” but concluded that “[t]here was no persuasive reason for the trial judge to believe that earlier disclosure, or a brief continuance, would have significantly altered the posture of the case before the jury.” Id. at 971, 972.
[T]he trial judge was on the scene. He was in a far better position than we are to assess the atmospherics of the case and to determine whether, given all that had occurred, Edelen’s defense was appreciably prejudiced by any delay in the disclosure to counsel of the color of the clothing allegedly worn by Pate and Edelen on the night of the murder.
Id. at 972. See also United States v. Paxson, 274 U.S.App.D.C. 71, 78, 861 F.2d 730, 737 (1988) (applying the clearly erroneous standard in affirming the trial judge’s determination, “after a careful and thorough examination of the subject, ... that the defense had in fact received the evidence in time to make effective use of it, and ... had based a thorough and effective examination ... on the very evidence as to which this question is now raised.”)
In this case, we similarly benefit from the analysis of the trial judge, who was on the scene, and we must defer to the factual components of his ruling. Cf. (Milton) Davis v. United States, 564 A.2d 31, 42 (D.C.1989) (en banc) (recognizing that proper standard of review often combines “de novo” review of legal judgment with application of “clearly erroneous” standard to the trial court’s findings of evidentiary and subsidiary facts and the inferences drawn therefrom);10 Odemns *1129v. United States, 901 A.2d 770, 776 (D.C.2006) (when applying the “abuse of discretion” standard to the admission of an excited utterance, “underlying factual findings are reviewed under the ‘clearly erroneous’ standard”).
I find the majority’s attempt to distinguish our decisions in Curry and Edelen to be entirely unpersuasive, as is its effort to reformulate the question the trial court addressed — whether the defense received the exculpatory material too late to allow effective use of it at trial. Moreover, it is, in my view, unfair to suggest that the trial court thought the government’s delay “was legally irrelevant,” ante at 1122, or that he “placed all of the blame on the defense without regard to the government’s delay....” Ante at 1122-23. As I explain in more detail below, the trial judge made a carefully considered, fact-bound determination that is not clearly erroneous.
Appellant’s central argument is that the delay in disclosing the grand jury testimony of Taylor caused his failure to make timely use of a segment of the Lindsey videotape. We therefore must focus on whether appellant has carried his burden of showing suppression (meaning, in this context, causation). In my view, that issue is dispositive, and the court need not reach the prejudice (materiality) prong of the Brady analysis. See United States v. Lemmerer, 277 F.3d 579, 588 (1st Cir.2002) (“[I]n delayed disclosure cases, we need not reach the question whether the evidence at issue was ‘material’ under Brady unless the defendant first can show that defense counsel was prevented by the delay from using the disclosed material effectively in preparing and presenting the defendant’s case.”).11
Y. Was the Evidence Suppressed?
I find it intriguing that the jury did not hear evidence that appellant Miller is right-handed. Perhaps the defense feared that the jury would credit Taylor’s testimony that the shooter used his right hand. If the jury so concluded, the defense obviously would not enhance appellant’s prospects of acquittal by proving or *1130by stipulating that Miller is right-handed. Nevertheless* both parties seemed to agree during trial that this is so. Therefore, an eyewitness statement that the shooter used his left hand was more than impeaching-it was exculpatory in nature. The government thus should have disclosed this portion of Taylor’s grand jury testimony (or at least its substance) sooner.12 “[A] prosecutor’s timely disclosure obligation with respect to Brady material can never be overemphasized, and the practice of delayed production must be disapproved and discouraged.” Boyd v. United States, 908 A.2d 39, 57 (D.C.2006) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Nevertheless, “[i]t is not feasible or desirable to specify the extent or timing of disclosure [that] Brady and its progeny require, except in terms of the sufficiency, under the circumstances, of the defense’s opportunity to use the evidence when disclosure is made.” Leka, 257 F.3d at 100.
1. The Trial Court’s Ruling
Appellant contends that, because the government disclosed Taylor’s grand jury testimony only the night before trial, defense counsel did not have time “to contemplate its implications.” He complains, in other words, that the defense did not have time to recognize possible linkage between two pieces of information in its possession — (1) the recently disclosed (but disavowed) statement that the shooter used his left hand and (2) the videotape of Lindsey’s interrogation, a portion of which could be used as demonstrative evidence that Lindsey used his left hand to sign the Miranda card. In short, appellant claims that the delay in disclosing Taylor’s grand jury statement “did not remotely permit” appellant’s attorneys to use the “evidence that the shooter was left-handed ... effectively,” and that this delay constituted suppression, the second prong of a Brady violation..
The trial judge had a contrary view: “Here the fault is completely with the defense.” “Several days after handedness became ah issue, several days after [defense counsel] made good use of left-handed versus right-handedness at trial in cross-examining Timothy Taylor, ... I can’t see how over a passage of days you could not have thought about that issue.” “There has been no change except the defense has suddenly thought of additional evidence it would introduce.” The court found that the government had neither caused defense counsel’s failure to use the video in this fashion nor prevented the defense from introducing other evidence of Mr. Lindsey’s handedness. On the record presented, these determinations by the finder of fact are not clearly erroneous.
2. Appellant Was Not Forced to Change His Trial Strategy
Appellant primarily relies on Leka v. Portuondo, 257 F.3d 89 (2d Cir.2001), in which both the manner and timing of a pretrial disclosure led the court to conclude that the information had been suppressed. In that case the government had altogether refused to disclose an eyewitness’s exculpatory statements, id. at 98; did not call the eyewitness at trial after *1131representing that it would do so, id. at 94; and disclosed, nine days before opening statements, only the identity of that eyewitness, id. at 100. Despite the fact that the defense had a chance to interview the eyewitness, which “it bungled ... by a deceptive and aggressive maneuver,” id. at 101, the court held that the government had “failed to make sufficient disclosure in sufficient time to afford the defense an opportunity for use.” Id. at 103. The Leka court noted that the closer a disclosure comes to trial, the less opportunity the defense has to use the information, id. at 100, because defense counsel may be “unable to divert resources from other initiatives and obligations that are or may seem more pressing,” id. at 101, especially where a limited disclosure “could have led to specific exculpatory information only if the defense undertook further investigation.” Id. Moreover, if a disclosure comes close to trial, it may “tend to throw existing strategies and preparations into disarray,” and defense counsel may be unable to assimilate the information into its case. Id. See also United States v. Lemmerer, 277 F.3d 579, 588 (1st Cir.2002) (“The principal concern in such cases [of delayed disclosure] is whether the failure to supply the information in a seasonable fashion caused the defense to change its trial strategy.” (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)).
Nothing in Taylor’s grand jury testimony or the Lindsey videotape threw “existing strategies and preparations into disarray,” either by forcing a change in strategy or by coming too late to permit such a change. In defendant’s opening statement counsel emphasized that Ryan Lindsey and Alvin Brandon had been stopped after fleeing in a pickup truck that matched the description of the one at the scene, that the pickup truck smelled of gunpowder, and that there was no physical evidence that Mr. Miller had been in the vehicle. He concluded by asserting that Brandon and Lindsey “came up with stories [blaming appellant] that ... accommodate the overwhelming evidence pointing directly at them.” On appeal Mr. Miller acknowledges that the “defense was focused on Ryan Lindsey as the real shooter....”13 Because the Lindsey videotape was consistent with his theory of the case, appellant has failed to show that it “[threw] existing strategies and preparations into disarray.” Leka, 257 F.3d at 100.
3. Appellant Had Time to Assimilate the Information
Nor has appellant established that he was prevented from using the videotape by resource limitations or the time pressures of trial. There were four days of testimony in this trial: Thursday, June 28, and the following Friday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Appellant was represented by two attorneys and, after the trial started, there were four days with no trial proceedings: Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday (the Fourth of July). Defense counsel reviewed the videotape well before the trial started, and they became very familiar with the tape, having observed the government playing four portions for the jury on Tuesday, July 3, and themselves playing seven portions of the videotape on Thursday, July 5. Defense counsel knew on the first day of testimony that the handedness of the shooter was in question and that their theory of the case was that Mr. Lindsey had committed the shooting (perhaps with Mr. Brandon’s knowing assistance). *1132And defense counsel found the section of the videotape which showed Mr. Lindsey signing his name the same evening they started to look for it. Defense counsel thus had four days off during trial (plus overnight recesses) in which to locate evidence they found in one night, on a videotape that they had viewed before trial and that they played repeatedly during trial.14 The strategic considerations and the time pressures that were significant in Leka were not present here.
4. Our Decision in James is Readily Distinguishable
In his brief, appellant relies upon our decision in James v. United States, 580 A.2d 636 (D.C.1990), which he claims “controls this appeal.” In that case a witness statement that, with the benefit of hindsight, was relevant to a hearsay ruling made on the third day of trial was not disclosed by the government until the fifth day of a six-day trial. Id. at 638.15 The threshold issue was whether the appellant had forfeited his right to pursue the Brady issue on appeal by failing to raise it at the time the witness statement was disclosed. Id. at 642. Declining, where Jencks Act material is disclosed mid-trial, to impose upon defendants the burden of “evalu-at[ing] the evidence’s relevance to every previous evidentiary ruling in the trial or else waiv[ing] the right to complain later,” id. at 643 (emphasis added), we allowed the appellant to proceed with his Brady objection. Id. at 644. Because the statement had been disclosed after the eviden-tiary ruling, we held (essentially as a matter of law) that defense counsel did not have an opportunity to make effective use of it.
Given “the unusual procedural posture of [the] case,” 580 A.2d at 646, however, we did not decide the Brady issue. Recognizing that the hearsay question could not be resolved as a matter of law, id., we remanded the record so the trial court could determine “whether Augustine’s statement to Baptiste would still have been admitted as a spontaneous utterance had the court known about Augustine’s previous statements to Bowman.” Id. Because the record was being remanded, we also sought “the trial court’s ruling on the [Brady ] materiality question in the event that the court determines its eviden-tiary ruling would have been different.” Id. at 647.
Three things are clear about our opinion in James. First, we did not hold that there had been a Brady violation. Second, we did not announce a general rule that we will deem suppression to have occurred whenever defense counsel belatedly recognizes the relevance of evidence that has actually been disclosed. And, third, James does not control this appeal because in this case both the videotape and the grand jury transcript were disclosed before testimony began, and because the issue of suppression — whether counsel had an opportunity to make effective use of the information— is a factual question.
5. The Evidence Was Not Suppressed
The trial judge in this case found that the government did not cause the failure of the defense to use the videotape, stating: ‘You can’t blame the government for this *1133one.” In reaching that decision the court explained that the defense was “well aware” of the issue of handedness for days prior to Mr. Lindsey’s testimony and that defense counsel had, “with great skill,” cross-examined Mr. Taylor about his conflicting testimony concerning which hand the shooter had used. The court also stated that this was not a case of newly discovered evidence. Defense counsel had the videotape “well before trial,” and they had played it at trial. The only change was that “the defense has suddenly thought of additional evidence it would introduce.”
What triggered counsel’s thought processes? Apparently it was Lindsey’s use of his hands while testifying. Defense counsel explained: “[T]here is a portion of the tape that we’ve never focused on because it was all preliminary to [Lindsey’s] interview. But after his testimony on the stand yesterday, it became a burning question.” In light of this acknowledgment, it is entirely speculative to suggest that the defense would have focused on the preliminary portion of the videotape at an earlier time if only the government had disclosed Taylor’s grand jury testimony sooner.
The trial judge thus rejected the argument that the government had caused defense counsel’s failure to introduce a portion of the videotape or other evidence of Mr. Lindsey’s handedness. Given that defense counsel received the grand jury testimony on the eve of trial but effectively used that testimony in cross-examining Mr. Taylor the next day, and given that there were four days of recess thereafter, we cannot say that the judge’s finding was clearly erroneous. Moreover, for the reasons discussed above, this finding amounts to a ruling that the evidence was not suppressed. There is, therefore, no Brady violation. See Strickler v. Greene, 527 U.S. 263, 281-82, 119 S.Ct. 1936, 144 L.Ed.2d 286 (1999).
VI. The Trial Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion
Because there was no Brady violation that required a remedy, we should apply our customary standards for determining whether the trial judge’s decision not to reopen evidence was an abuse of discretion. See Shelton v. United States, 983 A.2d 979, 987 (D.C.2009) (“Whether to permit a party to reopen its case after the close of the evidence is a question within the trial court’s sound discretion, and its decision will not be disturbed unless the court is shown to have abused its discretion.”). In exercising that discretion the court should consider, among other factors, the prejudice that the opposing party will suffer. Diaz v. United States, 716 A.2d 173, 182 (D.C.1998). The trial judge found here that the government would be unfairly prejudiced by introducing and highlighting the videotape after the start of final jury instructions, that it would be unfair to introduce the videotape without giving the government an opportunity to question Lindsey, that the prosecutor could not get Lindsey back quickly, and that the defense had failed to use the alternative of just asking the witness whether he was left-handed.16 Based on *1134this record, the trial judge did not abuse his discretion when he declined to reopen evidence, and we therefore should not disturb that decision.17 See (Faouly) Davis v. United States, 735 A.2d 467, 472 (D.C.1999) (“The belated receipt of ... testimony should not imbue the evidence with distorted importance, prejudice the opposing party’s case, or preclude an adversary from having an adequate opportunity to meet the additional evidence offered.” (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)); Curry, 658 A.2d at 199 (“Assuming that the trial judge had the authority to admit a potentially powerful hearsay statement into evidence [to remedy a delayed disclosure by the government], we cannot say that he was legally obliged to do so.”); Furtado v. Bishop, 604 F.2d 80, 95 (1st Cir.1979) (“It was within the trial judge’s discretion to deny a motion to reopen the case on the following morning on the ground that to admit the evidence in splendid isolation would give it undue emphasis.”).
This clearly was a challenging case, for both the prosecution and the defense, but appellant has not established that the government suppressed exculpatory evidence, in violation of the Brady doctrine. The judgment of the Superior Court should be affirmed.

. Defense counsel spoke with Mr. Taylor before opening statements were given, but appellant represents that "Mr. Taylor did not tell them that the shooter was lefthanded or that he had told the grand jury he was left-handed.”

. The use of the awkward term "handedness” to describe the tendency to use one hand rather than another is rare but not unheard of in legal opinions. See, e.g., Harris v. Anaconda Aluminum Co., 479 F.Supp. 11, 47 (N.D.Ga.1979) ("the knowledge of the 'handedness' of the doors”); Commonwealth v. Burts, 68 Mass.App.Ct. 684, 864 N.E.2d 562, 563 (2007) ("the 'handedness' of the assailant”). Nevertheless, it is the scientific term. See, e.g., People v. Steele, 27 Cal.4th 1230, 120 Cal.Rptr.2d 432, 47 P.3d 225, 256 (2002) (The scientist "testified that control groups for the BEAM test ... were based upon age, gender, and handedness.”); S. Knecht et al., Handedness and Hemispheric Language Dominance in Healthy Humans, 123 Brain 2512 (2000); R.C. Oldfield, The Assessment and Analysis of Handedness: The Edinburgh Inventory, 9 Neuropsychologia 97 (1971); see also Handedness Research Institute (June 14, 2010), http://handedness.org/institute.html (Indiana University).

. Mr. Lindsey had been arrested on a material witness warrant more than five months before trial, and was required to wear an ankle bracelet in order to secure his presence at trial. Mr. Lindsey testified that he “was on the run” from this case. The court notified both counsel during Mr. Lindsey’s testimony that it would be releasing Lindsey from the high intensity supervision program when he finished testifying, and specifically asked if there were any further questions that counsel wished to ask. Receiving no objection, the judge released Lindsey at the completion of testimony on Thursday.

. E.g., Ingram v. United States, 976 A.2d 180, 193 (D.C.2009) (denying Brady claim because information was not exculpatory and thus not material).

. E.g., Brooks v. United States, 396 A.2d 200, 203-04 (D.C.1978) (denying Brady claim, without deciding whether suppression had occurred, because defendant suffered no prejudice).

. E.g., Wright v. United States, 979 A.2d 26, 31 (D.C.2009) (denying Brady claim because "the government did not suppress the materials or information on which appellant bases his claims”); Wiggins v. United States, 386 A.2d 1171, 1175 (D.C.1978) (Ferren, X, concurring) (“[W]e hold that the exculpatory evidence ... was not 'suppressed' within the meaning of Brady ... and its progeny-Thus, we do not reach the question whether there was reversible error under Brady for failure to produce ‘material’ evidence.”).

7. United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985).

. As far as ethical obligations are concerned, the relevant standard is to be found in the Rules of Professional Conduct adopted by this Court. Referring to Brady and other responsibilities of a prosecutor, comment [1] to Rule 3.8 explains, as the majority acknowledges, that that "rule ... is not intended either to restrict or to expand the obligations of prosecutors derived from the United States Constitution, federal or District of Columbia statutes, and court rules of procedure.”

. "The Manual provides only internal Department of Justice guidance. It is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied upon to create any rights, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by any party in any matter civil or criminal.” USAM § 1-1.100.

. In terms that are instructive here, we explained in Davis our concerns when seeking *1129to identify the proper standard of review: "On the one hand, we wish to avail ourselves of the unique operational advantage of the trial judge in making a determination requiring intimate acquaintance with the facts of the particular case as they evolved at trial. On the other hand, we seek to maintain our own role as primary expositor of law by applying a sufficiently penetrating measure of review to a trial court decision that, in effect, construes a legal right by denying its remedy.” 564 A.2d at 34.

. Although this court historically has reviewed a trial court’s rulings on Brady materiality for "reasonableness,” see, e.g., Watson v. United States, 940 A.2d 182, 187 (D.C.2008); Powell v. United States, 880 A.2d 248, 254-55 (D.C.2005), Judge Ruiz has suggested that a de novo standard of review should be used because it "is consistent with the origin of the Brady materiality test, which is derived from the prejudice prong for ineffective assistance of counsel-an inquiry which the Court has held presents a mixed question of law and fact.” Farley v. United States, 767 A.2d 225, 233 (D.C.2001) (Ruiz, J., dissenting). We need not resolve that issue here. It is useful to note, however, that many federal circuits which apply a de novo standard of review to Brady claims recognize that issues of fact often are presented. See, e.g., United States v. Joseph, 996 F.2d 36, 39 (3rd Cir.1993) ("[Wjhen a Brady violation is alleged issues of law and fact usually are presented. In that circumstance, we review the district court’s legal conclusions on a de novo basis and its factual findings under the clearly erroneous standard.”); United States v. Severns, 559 F.3d 274, 278 (5th Cir.2009) (de novo review of the denial of a motion for a new trial based on alleged Brady violation, but "proceed[ing] with deference to the factual findings underlying the district court’s decision”); United States v. Erickson, 561 F.3d 1150, 1163 (10th Cir.2009) (reviewing de novo denial of a Brady- based motion for a new trial, while accepting district court’s findings of historical fact unless clearly erroneous).

. It is not clear when the prosecution learned that the shooter used (or may have used) his right hand, making Taylor’s grand jury testimony exculpatory. Perhaps the prosecutor was surprised by Taylor’s trial testimony that the shooter used his right hand. Moreover, as appellant acknowledges, the prosecutor did not recognize that Mr. Lindsey’s handedness was at issue. Perhaps he should have foreseen this possibility, but there is no basis for suggesting here that the government delayed turning over the grand jury testimony because it "considered that disclosure of the evidence would weaken its case.” Shelton v. United States, 983 A.2d 363, 372 n. 19 (D.C.2009).

. This theory was self-evident. The judge remarked to the defense at a hearing three days before trial "that if you had a case in which two people are stopped with the smell of gunpowder in the car, if I were defending the case I would say it’s one of those two people who did it, not my client[,] if the client wasn’t in the car.”

. Cf. United States v. Peters, 732 F.2d 1004, 1009 (1st Cir.1984) ("We hold that the disclosure at trial of the Brady material did not prejudice defendants. They had two full days, including one nontrial day, in which to prepare to cross-examine Fallon with regard to his grand jury testimony, which was short, uncomplicated, and fairly predictable. Defendants also had nine days between disclosure and the end of trial.”).

. We found "no basis to conclude that the prosecutor recognized the evidence’s relevance to the spontaneous utterance issue and intentionally withheld the evidence from the court.” 580 A.2d at 642 n. 10.

. Appellant argues that “[d]efense counsel cannot fairly be faulted for forgoing the risk of asking Ryan Lindsey which hand was his dominant hand...." It is, to be sure, a good rule of thumb that a trial attorney should refrain from asking a question on cross-examination unless he knows the answer, but following that rule without exception is a luxury counsel sometimes cannot afford. Moreover, ”[e]very experienced trial lawyer realizes that that rule is honored more in the breach than the observance.” Ward v. Whitley, 21 F.3d 1355, 1362 (5th Cir.1994). More importantly, this is a maxim of trial tactics, not a demand of due process. In this case, however, we do not know whether Lindsey would have provided an answer as favorable to the defense as what the videotape appeared to show. Thus, the crucial question is whether the govern*1134ment prevented the defense from finding and using that portion of the videotape.

. The trial judge had reopened evidence on two occasions, permitting the government to recall Mr. Lindsey after he had been excused and to introduce two documents after it had rested. On the first occasion, the judge explained that it was his practice to permit additional questions "if another witness hasn’t been called, or if the next phase hasn't begun,” and that this was a courtesy he would extend to both sides. Neither of these previous requests occurred after a new phase of the trial had already begun.
When defense counsel sought to reopen its case, asking the court to "extend the same courtesy,” the judge immediately noted, "After I’ve begun jury instructions? That’s different.” Before ruling, the court emphasized that the defense was asking to reopen "after the witness [Lindsey] has been excused and after the government has rested and the defense has rested and after arguments on motions for judgment of acquittal have taken place....” Because a new phase of the trial had begun, there was no inconsistency in the judge’s treatment of the defense request to reopen.