UNITED STATES v. AGURS
No. 75-491
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 28, 1976—Decided June 24, 1976
427 U.S. 97
Deputy Solicitor General Frey argued the cause for the United States. With him on the briefs were Solicitor General Bork, Assistant Attorney General Thornburgh, John F. Cooney, Jerome M. Feit, and Robert H. Plaxico.
Edwin J. Bradley argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were Michael E. Geltner, William Greenhalgh, and Sherman L. Cohn.
MR. JUSTICE STEVENS delivered the opinion of the Court.
After a brief interlude in an inexpensive motel room, respondent repeatedly stabbed James Sewell, causing his death. She was convicted of second-degree murder. The question before us is whether the prosecutor‘s failure
The answer to the question depends on (1) a review of the facts, (2) the significance of the failure of defense counsel to request the material, and (3) the standard by which the prosecution‘s failure to volunteer exculpatory material should be judged.
I
At about 4:30 p. m. on September 24, 1971, respondent, who had been there before, and Sewell, registered in a motel as man and wife. They were assigned a room without a bath. Sewell was wearing a bowie knife in a sheath, and carried another knife in his pocket. Less than two hours earlier, according to the testimony of his estranged wife, he had had $360 in cash on his person.
About 15 minutes later three motel employees heard respondent screaming for help. A forced entry into their room disclosed Sewell on top of respondent struggling for possession of the bowie knife. She was holding the knife; his bleeding hand grasped the blade; according to one witness he was trying to jam the blade into her chest. The employees separated the two and summoned the authorities. Respondent departed without comment before they arrived. Sewell was dead on arrival at the hospital.
Circumstantial evidence indicated that the parties had completed an act of intercourse, that Sewell had then gone to the bathroom down the hall, and that the struggle occurred upon his return. The contents of his pockets were in disarray on the dresser and no money was found; the jury may have inferred that respondent took Sewell‘s money and that the fight started when Sewell re-entered the room and saw what she was doing.
Respondent offered no evidence. Her sole defense was the argument made by her attorney that Sewell had initially attacked her with the knife, and that her actions had all been directed toward saving her own life. The support for this self-defense theory was based on the fact that she had screamed for help. Sewell was on top of her when help arrived, and his possession of two knives indicated that he was a violence-prone person.2 It took the jury about 25 minutes to elect a foreman and return a verdict.
Three months later defense counsel filed a motion for a new trial asserting that he had discovered (1) that Sewell had a prior criminal record that would have further evidenced his violent character; (2) that the prosecutor had failed to disclose this information to the defense; and (3) that a recent opinion of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit made it clear that such evidence was admissible even if not known to the defendant.3 Sewell‘s prior record included a plea of guilty to a charge of assault and carry-
The Government opposed the motion, arguing that there was no duty to tender Sewell‘s prior record to the defense in the absence of an appropriate request; that the evidence was readily discoverable in advance of trial and hence was not the kind of “newly discovered” evidence justifying a new trial; and that, in all events, it was not material.
The District Court denied the motion. It rejected the Government‘s argument that there was no duty to disclose material evidence unless requested to do so,4 assumed that the evidence was admissible, but held that
The Court of Appeals reversed.5 The court found no lack of diligence on the part of the defense and no misconduct by the prosecutor in this case. It held, however, that the evidence was material, and that its nondisclosure required a new trial because the jury might have returned a different verdict if the evidence had been received.6
The decision of the Court of Appeals represents a significant departure from this Court‘s prior holding; because we believe that that court has incorrectly interpreted the constitutional requirement of due process, we reverse.
II
The rule of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U. S. 83, arguably applies in three quite different situations. Each involves the discovery, after trial, of information which had been known to the prosecution but unknown to the defense.
In the first situation, typified by Mooney v. Holohan, 294 U. S. 103, the undisclosed evidence demonstrates that the prosecution‘s case includes perjured testimony and that the prosecution knew, or should have known, of the perjury.7 In a series of subsequent cases, the Court has consistently held that a conviction obtained by the knowing use of perjured testimony is fundamentally unfair,8 and must be set aside if there is any reasonable likelihood that the false testimony could have affected the judgment of the jury.9 It is this line of cases on which the
The second situation, illustrated by the Brady case itself, is characterized by a pretrial request for specific evidence. In that case defense counsel had requested the extrajudicial statements made by Brady‘s accomplice, one Boblit. This Court held that the suppression of one of Boblit‘s statements deprived Brady of due process, noting specifically that the statement had been requested and that it was “material.”10 A fair analysis of the holding in Brady indicates that implicit in the requirement of materiality is a concern that the suppressed evidence might have affected the outcome of the trial.
Brady was found guilty of murder in the first degree. Since the jury did not add the words “without capital punishment” to the verdict, he was sentenced to death. At his trial Brady did not deny his involvement in the deliberate killing, but testified that it was his accomplice,
After his conviction and sentence had been affirmed on appeal,11 Brady filed a motion to set aside the judgment, and later a post-conviction proceeding, in which he alleged that the State had violated his constitutional rights by suppressing the Boblit confession. The trial judge denied relief largely because he felt that Boblit‘s confession would have been inadmissible at Brady‘s trial. The Maryland Court of Appeals disagreed;12 it ordered a new trial on the issue of punishment. It held that the withholding of material evidence, even “without guile,” was a denial of due process and that there were valid theories on which the confession might have been admissible in Brady‘s defense.
This Court granted certiorari to consider Brady‘s contention that the violation of his constitutional right to a fair trial vitiated the entire proceeding.13 The holding that the suppression of exculpatory evidence violated Brady‘s right to due process was affirmed, as was the separate holding that he should receive a new trial on the issue of punishment but not on the issue of guilt or innocence. The Court interpreted the Maryland Court
The test of materiality in a case like Brady in which specific information has been requested by the defense is not necessarily the same as in a case in which no such request has been made.14 Indeed, this Court has not yet decided whether the prosecutor has any obligation to provide defense counsel with exculpatory information when no request has been made. Before addressing that question, a brief comment on the function of the request is appropriate.
In Brady the request was specific. It gave the prosecutor notice of exactly what the defense desired. Although there is, of course, no duty to provide defense counsel with unlimited discovery of everything known by the prosecutor, if the subject matter of such a request is material, or indeed if a substantial basis for claiming materiality exists, it is reasonable to require the prosecutor to respond either by furnishing the information or by submitting the problem to the trial judge. When the prosecutor receives a specific and relevant request, the failure to make any response is seldom, if ever, excusable.
In many cases, however, exculpatory information in the possession of the prosecutor may be unknown to defense counsel. In such a situation he may make no request at all, or possibly ask for “all Brady material” or for “anything exculpatory.” Such a request really gives the prosecutor no better notice than if no request is
We now consider whether the prosecutor has any constitutional duty to volunteer exculpatory matter to the defense, and if so, what standard of materiality gives rise to that duty.
III
We are not considering the scope of discovery authorized by the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, or the wisdom of amending those Rules to enlarge the defendant‘s discovery rights. We are dealing with the defendant‘s right to a fair trial mandated by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. Our construction of that Clause will apply equally to the comparable clause in the Fourteenth Amendment applicable to trials in state courts.
The problem arises in two principal contexts. First, in advance of trial, and perhaps during the course of a trial as well, the prosecutor must decide what, if anything, he should voluntarily submit to defense counsel.
Nevertheless, there is a significant practical difference between the pretrial decision of the prosecutor and the post-trial decision of the judge. Because we are dealing with an inevitably imprecise standard, and because the significance of an item of evidence can seldom be predicted accurately until the entire record is complete, the prudent prosecutor will resolve doubtful questions in favor of disclosure. But to reiterate a critical point, the prosecutor will not have violated his constitutional duty of disclosure unless his omission is of sufficient significance to result in the denial of the defendant‘s right to a fair trial.
The Court of Appeals appears to have assumed that the prosecutor has a constitutional obligation to disclose any information that might affect the jury‘s verdict. That statement of a constitutional standard of materiality approaches the “sporting theory of justice” which the Court expressly rejected in Brady.15 For a jury‘s
appraisal of a case “might” be affected by an improper or trivial consideration as well as by evidence giving rise to a legitimate doubt on the issue of guilt. If everything that might influence a jury must be disclosed, the only way a prosecutor could discharge his constitutional duty would be to allow complete discovery of his files as a matter of routine practice.
Whether or not procedural rules authorizing such broad discovery might be desirable, the Constitution surely does not demand that much. While expressing the opinion that representatives of the State may not “suppress substantial material evidence,” former Chief Justice Traynor of the California Supreme Court has pointed out that “they are under no duty to report sua sponte to the defendant all that they learn about the case and about their witnesses.” In re Imbler, 60 Cal. 2d 554, 569, 387 P. 2d 6, 14 (1963). And this Court recently noted that there is “no constitutional requirement that the prosecution make a complete and detailed accounting to the defense of all police investigatory work on a case.” Moore v. Illinois, 408 U. S. 786, 795.16 The mere possibility that an item of undisclosed information
Nor do we believe the constitutional obligation is measured by the moral culpability, or the willfulness, of the prosecutor.17 If evidence highly probative of innocence is in his file, he should be presumed to recognize its significance even if he has actually overlooked it. Cf. Giglio v. United States, 405 U. S. 150, 154. Conversely, if evidence actually has no probative significance at all, no purpose would be served by requiring a new trial simply because an inept prosecutor incorrectly believed he was suppressing a fact that would be vital to the defense. If the suppression of evidence results in constitutional error, it is because of the character of the evidence, not the character of the prosecutor.
As the District Court recognized in this case, there are situations in which evidence is obviously of such substantial value to the defense that elementary fairness requires it to be disclosed even without a specific request.18 For though the attorney for the sovereign must prosecute the accused with earnestness and vigor, he
On the one hand, the fact that such evidence was available to the prosecutor and not submitted to the defense places it in a different category than if it had simply been discovered from a neutral source after trial. For that reason the defendant should not have to satisfy the severe burden of demonstrating that newly discovered evidence probably would have resulted in acquittal.19 If the standard applied to the usual motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence were the same when the evidence was in the State‘s possession as when it was found in a neutral source, there would be no special significance to the prosecutor‘s obligation to serve the cause of justice.
On the other hand, since we have rejected the suggestion that the prosecutor has a constitutional duty routinely to deliver his entire file to defense counsel, we cannot consistently treat every nondisclosure as though it were error. It necessarily follows that the judge should not order a new trial every time he is unable to
The proper standard of materiality must reflect our overriding concern with the justice of the finding of guilt.20 Such a finding is permissible only if supported by evidence establishing guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. It necessarily follows that if the omitted evidence creates a reasonable doubt that did not otherwise exist, constitutional error has been committed. This means that the omission must be evaluated in the context of the entire record.21 If there is no reasonable doubt about
guilt whether or not the additional evidence is considered, there is no justification for a new trial. On the other hand, if the verdict is already of questionable validity, additional evidence of relatively minor importance might be sufficient to create a reasonable doubt.
This statement of the standard of materiality describes the test which courts appear to have applied in actual cases although the standard has been phrased in different language.22 It is also the standard which the trial judge applied in this case. He evaluated the significance of Sewell‘s prior criminal record in the context of the full trial which he recalled in detail. Stressing in particular the incongruity of a claim that Sewell was the aggressor with the evidence of his multiple wounds and respondent‘s unscathed condition, the trial judge indicated his unqualified opinion that respondent was guilty. He
Since the arrest record was not requested and did not even arguably give rise to any inference of perjury, since after considering it in the context of the entire record the trial judge remained convinced of respondent‘s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and since we are satisfied that his firsthand appraisal of the record was thorough and entirely reasonable, we hold that the prosecutor‘s failure to tender Sewell‘s record to the defense did not deprive respondent of a fair trial as guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is
Reversed.
MR. JUSTICE MARSHALL, with whom MR. JUSTICE BRENNAN joins, dissenting.
The Court today holds that the prosecutor‘s constitutional duty to provide exculpatory evidence to the defense is not limited to cases in which the defense makes a request for such evidence. But once having recognized the existence of a duty to volunteer exculpatory evidence, the Court so narrowly defines the category of “material” evidence embraced by the duty as to deprive it of all meaningful content.
In considering the appropriate standard of materiality governing the prosecutor‘s obligation to volunteer exculpatory evidence, the Court observes:
“[T]he fact that such evidence was available to the prosecutor and not submitted to the defense places it in a different category than if it had simply been
discovered from a neutral source after trial. For that reason the defendant should not have to satisfy the severe burden of demonstrating that newly discovered evidence probably would have resulted in acquittal [the standard generally applied to a motion under
Fed. Rule Crim. Proc. 33 based on newly discovered evidence1]. If the standard applied to the usual motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence were the same when the evidence was in the State‘s possession as when it was found in a neutral source, there would be no special significance to the prosecutor‘s obligation to serve the cause of justice.” Ante, at 111 (footnote omitted).
I agree completely.
The Court, however, seemingly forgets these precautionary words when it comes time to state the proper standard of materiality to be applied in cases involving neither the knowing use of perjury nor a specific defense request for an item of information. In such cases, the prosecutor commits constitutional error, the Court holds, “if the omitted evidence creates a reasonable doubt that did not otherwise exist.” Ante, at 112. As the Court‘s subsequent discussion makes clear, the defendant challenging the prosecutor‘s failure to disclose evidence is entitled to relief, in the Court‘s view, only if the withheld evidence actually creates a reasonable doubt as to guilt in the judge‘s mind. The burden thus imposed on the defendant is at least as “severe” as, if not more
Our overriding concern in cases such as the one before us is the defendant‘s right to a fair trial. One of the most basic elements of fairness in a criminal trial is that available evidence tending to show innocence, as well as that tending to show guilt, be fully aired before the jury; more particularly, it is that the State in its zeal to convict a defendant not suppress evidence that might exonerate him. See Moore v. Illinois, 408 U. S. 786, 810 (1972) (opinion of MARSHALL, J.). This fundamental notion of fairness does not pose any irreconcilable conflict for the prosecutor, for as the Court reminds us, the prosecutor “must always be faithful to his client‘s overriding interest that ‘justice shall be done.’ ” Ante, at 111. No interest of the State is served, and no duty of the prosecutor advanced, by the suppression of evidence favorable to the defendant. On the contrary, the prosecutor fulfills his most basic responsibility when he fully airs all the relevant evidence at his command.
I recognize, of course, that the exculpatory value to the defense of an item of information will often not be apparent to the prosecutor in advance of trial. And
Under today‘s ruling, if the prosecution has not made knowing use of perjury, and if the defense has not made a specific request for an item of information, the defendant is entitled to a new trial only if the withheld evidence actually creates a reasonable doubt as to guilt in the judge‘s mind. With all respect, this rule is completely at odds with the overriding interest in assuring that evidence tending to show innocence is brought to the jury‘s attention. The rule creates little, if any, incentive for the prosecutor conscientiously to determine whether his files contain evidence helpful to the defense. Indeed, the rule reinforces the natural tendency of the prosecutor to overlook evidence favorable to the defense, and creates an incentive for the prosecutor to resolve close questions of disclosure in favor of concealment.
More fundamentally, the Court‘s rule usurps the function of the jury as the trier of fact in a criminal case. The Court‘s rule explicitly establishes the judge as the trier of fact with respect to evidence withheld by the prosecution. The defendant‘s fate is sealed so long as the evidence does not create a reasonable doubt as to guilt in the judge‘s mind, regardless of whether the
The Court asserts that this harsh standard of materiality is the standard that “courts appear to have applied in actual cases although the standard has been phrased in different language.” Ante, at 113 (footnote omitted). There is no basis for this assertion. None of the cases cited by the Court in support of its statement suggests that a judgment of conviction should be sustained so long as the judge remains convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of the defendant‘s guilt.4 The prevail-
The Court approves—but only for a limited category of cases—a standard virtually identical to the one I have described as reflecting the prevailing view. In cases in which “the undisclosed evidence demonstrates that the prosecution‘s case includes perjured testimony and that the prosecution knew, or should have known, of the perjury,” ante, at 103, the judgment of conviction must be set aside “if there is any reasonable likelihood that the false testimony could have affected the judgment of the jury.” Ibid. This lesser burden on the defendant is appropriate, the Court states, primarily because the withholding of evidence contradicting testimony offered by witnesses called by the prosecution “involve[s] a corruption of the truth-seeking function of the trial process.” Ante, at 104. But surely the truth-seeking process is corrupted by the withholding of evidence favorable to the defense, regardless of whether the evidence is directly contradictory to evidence offered by the prosecution. An example offered by Mr. Justice Fortas serves to illustrate the point. “[L]et us assume that the State possesses information that blood was found on the victim, and that this blood is of a type which does not match that of the accused or of the victim. Let us assume that no related testimony was offered by the State.” Giles v. Maryland, 386 U. S. 66, 100 (1967) (concurring in judgment). The suppression of the information unquestionably corrupts the truth-seeking process, and the burden on the defendant in establishing his entitlement to a new trial ought be no different from the burden he would face if related testimony had been elicited by the prosecution. See id., at 99-101.
The Court derives its “reasonable likelihood” standard for cases involving perjury from cases such as Napue v. Illinois, 360 U. S. 264 (1959), and Giglio v. United States, 405 U. S. 150 (1972). But surely the results in those cases, and the standards applied, would have been no different if perjury had not been involved. In Napue and Giglio, co-conspirators testifying against the defendants testified falsely, in response to questioning by defense counsel, that they had not received promises from the prosecution. The prosecution failed to disclose that promises had in fact been made. The corruption of the truth-seeking process stemmed from the suppression of evidence affecting the overall credibility of the witnesses, see Napue, supra, at 269; Giglio, supra, at 154, and that corruption would have been present whether or not defense counsel had elicited statements from the witnesses denying that promises had been made.
It may be that, contrary to the Court‘s insistence, its treatment of perjury cases reflects simply a desire to deter deliberate prosecutorial misconduct. But if that were the case, we might reasonably expect a rule imposing a lower threshold of materiality than the Court imposes—perhaps a harmless-error standard. And we would certainly expect the rule to apply to a broader category of misconduct than the failure to disclose evidence that contradicts testimony offered by witnesses called by the prosecution. For the prosecutor is guilty of misconduct when he deliberately suppresses evidence that is clearly relevant and favorable to the defense, regardless, once again, of whether the evidence relates directly to testimony given in the course of the Government‘s case.
This case, however, does not involve deliberate prosecutorial misconduct. Leaving open the question whether a different rule might appropriately be applied in cases involving deliberate misconduct,7 I would hold that the
Notes
“THE COURT: Are you arguing to the Court that the status of the law is that if you have a report indicating that fingerprints were taken and that the fingerprints on the item . . . which the defendant is alleged to have assaulted somebody turn out not to be the defendant‘s, that absent a specific request for that information, you do not have any obligation to defense counsel?
“MR. CLARKE: No, Your Honor. There is another aspect which comes to this, and that is whether or not the Government knowingly puts on perjured testimony. It has an obligation to correct that perjured testimony.
“THE COURT: I am not talking about perjured testimony. You don‘t do anything about it. You say nothing about it. You have got the report there. You know that possibly it could be exculpatory. Defense counsel doesn‘t know about it. He has been misinformed about it. Suppose he doesn‘t know about it. And because he has made no specific request for that information, you say that the status of the law under Brady is that you have no obligation as a prosecutor to open your mouth?
“MR. CLARKE: No. Your Honor....
“But as the materiality of the items becomes less to the point where it is not material, there has to be a request, or else the Government, just like the defense, is not on notice.” App. 147-149. In Stout v. Cupp, 426 F. 2d 881 (CA9 1970), a habeas proceeding, the court simply quoted the District Court‘s finding that if the suppressed evidence had been introduced, “the jury would not have reached a different result.” Id., at 883. There is no indication that the quoted language was intended as anything more than a finding of fact, which would, quite obviously, dispose of the defendant‘s claim under any standard that might be suggested. In Peterson v. United States, 411 F. 2d. 1074 (CA8 1969), the court appeared to require a showing that the withheld evidence “was ‘material’ and would have aided the defense.” Id., at 1079. The court in Lessard v. Dickson, 394 F. 2d 88 (CA9 1968), found it determinative that the withheld evidence “could hardly be regarded as being able to have much force against the inexorable array of incriminating circumstances with which [the defendant] was surrounded.” Id., at 91. The jury, the court noted, would not have been “likely to have had any [difficulty]” with the argument defense counsel would have made with the withheld evidence. Id., at 92. Finally, United States v. Tomaiolo, 378 F. 2d 26 (CA2 1967), required the defendant to show that the evidence was “material and of some substantial use to the defendant.” Id., at 28.“We have reached this conclusion with some reluctance, particularly in light of the considered belief of the able and conscientious district judge, who has lived with this case for years, that review of the record in light of all the defense new trial motions left him ‘convinced of the correctness of the jury‘s verdict.’ We, who also have had no small exposure to the facts, are by no means convinced otherwise. The test, however, is not how the newly discovered evidence concerning the hypnosis would affect the trial judge or ourselves but whether, with the Government‘s case against [the defendant] already subject to serious attack, there was a significant chance that this added item, developed by skilled counsel as it
The Court held that such allegations, if true, would establish such fundamental unfairness as to justify a collateral attack on petitioner‘s conviction.
“It is a requirement that cannot be deemed to be satisfied by mere notice and hearing if a State has contrived a conviction through the pretense of a trial which in truth is but used as a means of depriving a defendant of liberty through a deliberate deception of court and jury by the presentation of testimony known to be perjured. Such a contrivance by a State to procure the conviction and imprisonment of a defendant is as inconsistent with the rudimentary demands of justice as is the obtaining of a like result by intimidation.” Id., at 112. It is the presence of deliberate prosecutorial misconduct and a desire to deter such misconduct, presumably, that leads the Court to recognize a rule more readily permitting new trials in cases in-volving a specific defense request for information. The significance of the defense request, the Court states, is simply that it gives the prosecutor notice of what is important to the defense; once such notice is received, the failure to disclose is “seldom, if ever, excusable.” Ante, at 106. It would seem to follow that if an item of information is of such obvious importance to the defense that it could not have escaped the prosecutor‘s attention, its suppression should be treated in the same manner as if there had been a specific request. This is precisely the approach taken by some courts. See, e. g., United States v. Morell, 524 F. 2d, at 553; United States v. Miller, 499 F. 2d, at 744; United States v. Kahn, 472 F. 2d, at 287; United States v. Keogh, 391 F. 2d, at 146-147.“This is not to say that convictions ought to be reversed on the ground that information merely repetitious, cumulative, or embellishing of facts otherwise known to the defense or presented to the court, or without importance to the defense for purposes of the preparation of the case or for trial was not disclosed to defense counsel. It is not to say that the State has an obligation to communicate preliminary, challenged, or speculative information.”
“As discussed previously, in earlier cases the following standards for determining materiality for disclosure purposes were enunciated: (1) evidence which may be merely helpful to the defense; (2) evidence which raised a reasonable doubt as to defendant‘s guilt; (3) evidence which is of such a character as to create a substantial likelihood of reversal.” Comment, Materiality and Defense Requests: Aids in Defining the Prosecutor‘s Duty of Disclosure, 59 Iowa L. Rev. 433, 445 (1973).
See also Note, The Duty of the Prosecutor to Disclose Exculpatory Evidence, 60 Col. L. Rev. 858 (1960).