United States v. Jonathan Leal-Del Carmen
2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 19330
| 9th Cir. | 2012Background
- Border patrol found 12 Mexican nationals hiding near Smith Canyon and arrested Leal-Del Carmen and Gomez- Aguilar for alien smuggling.
- Garcia-Garcia identified Leal-Del Carmen as someone not giving orders; three other witnesses identified him as a leader, while their statements were kept as material witnesses.
- Garcia-Garcia testified before trial via videotape after deportation; defense never had interview opportunity due to undisclosed statements from other witnesses.
- The government knew Garcia-Garcia had exculpatory testimony; district court denied motions to admit the videotaped statements and to give a missing-witness instruction.
- The court adopted a two-part test for deportation of alien-witnesses: bad faith and prejudice, balancing defendants’ right to a complete defense with immigration enforcement.
- On remand, the court reversed and ordered possible dismissal with prejudice and instruction to consider admissibility of videotape, witnesses’ declarations, and missing-witness instructions with fair procedures.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether deportation of a potentially exculpatory witness violated due process | Leal-Del Carmen | Government | Yes; deportation violated to present a complete defense. |
| Bad faith standard for deportation of a witness | Government knew exculpatory value | Deportation occurred despite knowledge | Bad faith shown because exculpatory evidence was known to the government. |
| Admissibility of videotaped statements | Video should be admitted to prove exculpatory testimony | District court erred by excluding tape | Abuse of discretion; tape admissible under multiple grounds. |
| Missing-witness instruction necessity | Jury should be allowed to infer adverse testimony from absent witness | No peculiarly within government's power to produce | Instruction required; absence harmed defense. |
| Harmless error determination | Exculpatory evidence could change outcome | Errors were harmless beyond reasonable doubt | Not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt; reversal warranted. |
Key Cases Cited
- Valenzuela-Bernal v. United States, 458 U.S. 858 (1982) (deportation of witnesses and materiality standard for prejudice)
- Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78 (1935) (fairness in criminal proceedings; government must avoid foul plays)
- Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) (duty to disclose exculpatory evidence)
- Dring v. United States, 930 F.2d 687 (9th Cir. 1991) (two-part bad-faith and prejudice test for deported witnesses)
- United States v. Stever, 603 F.3d 747 (9th Cir. 2010) (meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense)
- United States v. Sanchez-Lima, 161 F.3d 545 (9th Cir. 1998) (residual hearsay exception for deported witnesses)
- United States v. Noah, 475 F.2d 688 (9th Cir. 1973) (missing-witness inference doctrine)
- United States v. Brutzman, 731 F.2d 1449 (9th Cir. 1984) (peculiarly within control and unfavorable testimony inference)
- Ortega-Cervantes v. Gonzales, 501 F.3d 1111 (9th Cir. 2007) (parole authority in witness testimony context)
- Ramirez-Lopez, 315 F.3d 1143 (9th Cir. 2003) (contextual precedent on deportation and defense)