D.N.M.: Brady material doesn’t have to be disclosed for suppression hearings

Brady material doesn’t have to be disclosed for suppression hearings. [How does this fit with the ethical obligation to not present false evidence? See Model Rules 3.3 & 3.4. Brady material might not make a difference in suppression hearing; then, again, it could make the government’s testimony false if the officer is not careful.] United States v. Deleon, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 200039 (D. N.M. Nov. 19, 2019), adopted, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 209550 (D.N.M. Dec. 5, 2019)*:

Most recently, the Tenth Circuit has suggested that Brady does not apply to suppression hearings, because “Brady rests on the idea that due process is violated when the withheld evidence is material to either guilt or punishment,” but “[s]uppression hearings do not determine a defendant’s guilt or punishment.” United States v. Dahl, 597 F. App’x 489, 491 n.2 (10th Cir. 2015) (unpublished) (quoting United States v. Lee Vang Lor, 706 F.3d 1252, 1256 n.2 (10th Cir. 2013) (acknowledging that “[w]hether Brady’s disclosure requirements even apply at the motion to suppress stage is an open question”)). Although the United States Courts of Appeals have split on whether Brady applies to suppression hearings, “it is not likely that a prosecutor must disclose impeachment evidence before a suppression hearing in light of the Supreme Court’s conclusion in United States v. Ruiz that a prosecutor does not have to disclose impeachment evidence before the entry of a guilty plea.” United States v. Harmon, 871 F. Supp. 2d at 1151. The Tenth Circuit affirmed United States v. Harmon, in which the Court concluded that the United States need not disclose impeachment information before a suppression hearing.

Given that the Court has located no Tenth Circuit case deciding this issue, the Court believes that the Tenth Circuit would extend the holding of United States v. Ruiz to suppression hearings. The Supreme Court’s rationale distinguishing the guilty-plea process from a trial applies equally to a comparison of the suppression-hearing process and a trial. The Court believes that both the Tenth Circuit and the Supreme Court would recognize that impeachment evidence need not be disclosed before a suppression hearing. In United States v. Ruiz, the Supreme Court recognized that “impeachment information is special in relation to the fairness of a trial, not in respect to whether a plea is voluntary.” United States v. Ruiz, 536 U.S. at 632 . . . (emphasis in original). It acknowledged that, “[o]f course, the more information the defendant has, the more aware he is of the likely consequences of a plea, waiver, or decision, and the wiser that decision will likely be,” but concluded that “the Constitution does not require the prosecutor to share all useful information with the defendant.” United States v. Ruiz, 536 U.S. at 632 …. Likewise, “the more information the defendant has, the more” likely he will be able to successfully suppress a particular piece of evidence, but “the Constitution does not require the prosecutor to share all useful information with the defendant.” United States v.Ruiz, 536 U.S. at 632 ….

United States v. Harmon, 871 F. Supp. 2d at 1169 (emphasis in original). Accordingly, Brady does not require the United States to disclose impeachment evidence before suppression hearings. See United States v. Harmon, 871 F. Supp. 2d at 1165-67.

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