CA4: It was speculation at best that disclosure of CI would aid suppression motion

Defendant failed to show how disclosure of the CI’s identity would have helped in his motion to suppress. Defendant was involved in a controlled buy the CI three days before the search warrant was issued for his house, and the product of the search was the basis of the case against him. It was speculation that disclosing the CI would prove anything relevant. United States v. Murel, 502 Fed. Appx. 291 (4th Cir. 2012):

Below, Murel offered the district court no explanation as to how disclosure of the identity of the confidential informant would be relevant to any defense he sought to present at trial. Instead, Murel merely speculated in a conclusory manner that such confidential informant “could potentially provide relevant and helpful testimony for the defense concerning what occurred and what the CI observed, if anything, at [his residence] in connection with the alleged controlled buy on Jun[e] 10, 2009.” (J.A. 148-49) (Murel’s Motion to Compel Disclosure of Confidential Informant Information).

After reviewing Murel’s arguments, the record, and the relevant legal authorities, we conclude Murel failed to carry his burden of establishing an actual basis for disclosure of the identity of the confidential informant who conducted the controlled purchase from Murel on June 10, 2009. Accordingly, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Murel’s motion to compel disclosure of such confidential informant’s identity. Of significant importance to our conclusion is the fact that although the confidential informant participated in the controlled purchase which resulted in Murel’s arrest and issuance of the search warrant for his residence, Murel’s participation in the controlled purchase is not the subject of his instant offenses. Smith, 780 F.2d at 1108 (in determining whether defendant carried his burden of establishing entitlement to disclosure of identity of confidential informant, “[o]ne of the most important factors to be considered is the materiality of the evidence to the defendant’s particular defense”). Rather, Murel was charged with three criminal offenses stemming from evidence recovered three days after the controlled purchase at issue. In sum, Murel has offered nothing more than rank speculation as to how disclosure of the identity of the confidential informant would have been relevant to his defense; therefore, he has failed to carry his burden on this issue. See id. (disclosure of confidential informant’s identity only required after court has determined such informant’s “testimony is highly relevant”).