Court Opinion

ID: 9499636
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 17:53:09.198869+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:59:37.350566
License: Public Domain

ALICE M. BATCHELDER, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I write separately to express my view that the circumstances of this case constitute a violation of the defendants’ right to due process. Because I would reverse the district court and order a new trial, I must respectfully dissent.
I believe the evidence contained in the suppressed files is of sufficient exculpatory and impeachment value to demonstrate materiality and warrant a new trial. The promissory notes support the defendants’ theory and impeach the prosecution’s key witness, Jerome Allen. Other financial statements, signed in blank to be filled in by Allen, support the defendants’ theory that they had trusted Allen and often signed legal documents without reading them, which the prosecution had decried as unbelievable and unsupported by any evidence. Original records from Com-merzbank document deposits of almost $600,000 to an account in Graham’s name, earning annual interest of 12 to 18%, which directly contradicts prosecution testimony that no such account existed. The transactions, withdrawals, and deposits of extremely large amounts of cash support the defense theory, which the prosecution had repeatedly characterized to the jury as “fantastic.”
Under our Constitution and our system of justice, the prosecution is obligated to disclose to the defense all impeaching or exculpatory evidence in its possession. Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). The prosecution also has a duty to learn of “favorable evidence known to others acting on the government’s behalf.” Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419, 437, 115 S.Ct. 1555, 131 L.Ed.2d 490 (1995). The defense need not request this information from the prosecution and inadvertence is no excuse. Strickler v. Greene, 527 U.S. 263, 280-82, 119 S.Ct. 1936, 144 L.Ed.2d 286 (1999). Therefore, the defense is entitled to rely on the prosecution’s representations regarding its compliance with its Brady obligations. Banks v. Dretke, 540 U.S. 668, 124 S.Ct. 1256, 157 L.Ed.2d 1166 (2004). The rule is not designed to punish the prosecution for misconduct, but to ensure that defendants receive fair trials. See United States v. Beasley, 576 F.2d 626, 630 (5th Cir.1978) (“Brady is not a discovery rule, but a rule of fairness and minimum prosecutorial obligation.”).
In the present case, the district court framed the question as whether it is “negligence for the Government to be stonewalled by their snitch,” and held that “[i]f there was suppression in this case, it was Allen’s doing, not that of the government, *423and Brady does not extend to his activity.” I believe this mischaracterizes the question. The government was not “stonewalled” in this case — as is evident from both the government’s conduct and Allen’s testimony. On the contrary, the government was fully aware, as of March 15, 2004, at the latest, that Allen had more of Graham’s files and the government acted on that knowledge during trial by instructing Allen to return home and search those files for evidence that it could use to impeach Graham’s testimony.
Ultimately, the district court reasoned that the prosecution’s duty-to-discover under Kyles is only applicable to police officers and government agents, and does not extend to cooperating witnesses such as Allen, i.e., “snitches.” I disagree with this reading of Kyles, which states: “the individual prosecutor has a duty to learn of any favorable evidence known to others acting on the government’s behalf in the case, including the police.” Kyles, 514 U.S. at 437, 115 S.Ct. 1555. In my view, this language is inclusive, not exclusive, and at least implies that the duty begins rather than ends with the police. The limitation to police is particularly suspicious in this case where Allen, while continuing to represent the defendants as lawyer, fiduciary, and tax advisor (even preparing Graham’s 2002 tax returns), was covertly providing information to the government in accordance with his plea and cooperation agreement, and was providing documents to the government prosecutor, while those exculpatory files — which’ were actually Graham’s property — sat, unbeknownst to Graham, in Allen’s garage. Although it is unclear if or why Allen failed to disclose the extra files to the government before March 15, 2004, there can be no dispute that he did so at that time, and the government’s alleged “disclosure” to the defendants is dubious at best.
The government criticizes the defense for failing to subpoena Allen, but Allen— via his personal attorney — had told Graham and Dresbach that he had already provided all the files in his possession and the rest had been destroyed. Furthermore, a client need not obtain a subpoena to retrieve his own files from his own attorney. The government also criticizes the defense for failing to move for an order, but that is not required under Strickler, and the government had already exclaimed that Allen had no more of Graham’s files and that it had provided the defense with all there was to provide. The government contends that the defense had just as much access to the files as it did, but it was the government that led the defense to believe that there were no more files, it was the government that had control over Allen via the cooperation agreement and the ability to penalize Allen for withholding information from them, and it was the government that ordered Allen to retrieve the files from his garage, knowing that Allen had more files, even after asserting to the defense that he did not. Finally, the government contends, as the district court suggested, that this was a failure of “defense preparation rather than prosecutorial misconduct.” But, even if that were true, Brady is not a rule to deter prosecutorial misconduct, and innocence is not an excuse.
The prosecution should not be allowed to cherry-pick the incriminating evidence out of a cooperating witness’s files and leave the rest, only to hide behind the assertion, when challenged, that it never had actual possession of those (exculpatory) files and therefore had no obligation to provide them to the defense. Whether or not the prosecution intentionally engaged in such conduct in this case, it is clear that the prosecution provided some (hand-picked) files while allowing the defense to believe mistakenly that it had received from the *424prosecution all the files that were available. Even if the government was innocent and equally misled by Allen, as it now seems to argue, that is no answer. Brady is intended to ensure that the defendant gets the same evidence that is available to the prosecution. That is why the government must pursue it and provide it, even if the defendant does not specifically ask for it. By failing to construe the rule as a guarantee of fairness, the district court improperly limited Brady, Strickler, and Kyles.
I respectfully dissent.