Court Opinion

ID: 9497731
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:58:41.627391+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:58:23.057943
License: Public Domain

COLLOTON, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I concur in the opinion of the court on the understanding that when the opinion refers to a potential showing of “bad faith” by the government that might justify discovery or an order compelling a substantial-assistance motion, ante, at 676, the court means nothing more than a showing of an “unconstitutional motive” or a decision “not rationally related to any legitimate government end,” as described by the Supreme Court in Wade v. United States, 504 U.S. 181, 185-86, 112 S.Ct. 1840, 118 L.Ed.2d 524 (1992). Although the petitioner in Wade asserted that the government acted “in bad faith” when it refused to file a substantial-assistance motion, his claim was based on an allegation that the decision was not “rationally related to any legitimate state objective,” and the Supreme Court responded only by inquiring whether the government’s decision was “rationally related to any legitimate Government end.” Id. at 186, 112 S.Ct. 1840. Our court recently clarified that “bad faith” is not an independent constitutional standard to be applied in this context. United States v. Moeller, 383 F.3d 710, 712-13 (8th Cir.2004).
While our court sometimes has referred to “bad faith” as a standard applicable in reviewing the government’s refusal to file a substantial-assistance motion, e.g., United States v. Licona-Lopez, 163 F.3d 1040, 1042 (8th Cir.1998), my own view is that it would be best to discontinue the use of this phraseology in light of Moeller’s clarification of Wade. By adding “bad faith” to the discussion of constitutional standards set by the Supreme Court, we risk confusing lawyers and judges who must apply the standards that govern this type of motion.