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Singh v. Prunty, No. 96-56726 (9th Cir.) (142 F.3d 1157) (April 27, 1998) (Judge Donald P. Lay)

Article • July 1, 1998 • from P&J July, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

Singh v. Prunty, No. 96-56726 (9th Cir.) (142 F.3d 1157) (April 27, 1998) (Judge Donald P. Lay) by Quote from Judge Trott in which he stated that the use of informers, accessories, accomplices, false friends, or any of the other betrayals which are "dirty business" may raise serious questions of …

Singh v. Prunty, No. 96-56726 (9th Cir.) (142 F.3d 1157) (April 27, 1998) (Judge Donald P. Lay)

Article • July 1, 1998 • from P&J July, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

Singh v. Prunty, No. 96-56726 (9th Cir.) (142 F.3d 1157) (April 27, 1998) (Judge Donald P. Lay) by Case held that the knowing and deliberate suppression of the evidence of benefits received by an informant violated the Brady rule and constituted severe prejudice that warranted granting a writ of habeas …

U.S. v. Singleton, No. 97-3178 (10th Cir.) (144 F.3d 1343) (July 1, 1998) (Judge Paul J. Jr. Kelly)

Article • June 1, 1998 • from P&J June, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

U.S. v. Singleton, No. 97-3178 (10th Cir.) (144 F.3d 1343) (July 1, 1998) (Judge Paul J. Jr. Kelly) by Famous quote from Judge Brown about the excessive use of informers in criminal justice. QUOTE OF THE WEEK - When enough is enough! "[R]ecognized as is the role of informer in …

U.S. v. Garcia Abrego, No. 97-20130 (5th Cir.) (141 F.3d 142) (May 6, 1998) (Judge Carolyn Dineen King)

Article • June 1, 1998 • from P&J June, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

U.S. v. Garcia Abrego, No. 97-20130 (5th Cir.) (141 F.3d 142) (May 6, 1998) (Judge Carolyn Dineen King) by The principal (and disturbing) issue raised in this major drug prosecution case was the defendant's claim that the Government's payment of witnesses, grants of immunity, and plea bargaining so distorted the …

U.S. v. Garcia Abrego, No. 97-20130 (5th Cir.) (141 F.3d 142) (May 6, 1998) (Judge Carolyn Dineen King)

Article • June 1, 1998 • from P&J June, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

U.S. v. Garcia Abrego, No. 97-20130 (5th Cir.) (141 F.3d 142) (May 6, 1998) (Judge Carolyn Dineen King) by QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The Garcia-Abrego case calls to mind another notorious case which shows the judicial reluctance to airing in public claims that exorbitant payments to Government witnesses make …

Carriger v. Stewart, No. 95-99025 (9th Cir.) (132 F.3d 463) (December 17, 1997) (Judge Mary M. Schroeder)

Article • February 1, 1998 • from P&J February, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

Carriger v. Stewart, No. 95-99025 (9th Cir.) (132 F.3d 463) (December 17, 1997) (Judge Mary M. Schroeder) by Here the Court found that the Government's Brady rule violations entitled the defendant to habeas relief and emphasized the special considerations that apply when the Government uses witnessess who have been granted …

U.S. v. Bradfield, No. 94-60730 (5th Cir.) (113 F.3d 515) (May 14, 1997) (Judge Jacques L. Jr. Weiner)

Article • June 1, 1997 • from P&J June, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

U.S. v. Bradfield, No. 94-60730 (5th Cir.) (113 F.3d 515) (May 14, 1997) (Judge Jacques L. Jr. Weiner) by Government thought control? You decide. Earlier this year a panel of Fifth Circuit judges wrote a decision, originally reported at 103 F.3d 1207 (5th Cir. 1997) ("Bradfield I"), in which it …

U.S. v. Sinclair, No. 96-5040 (10th Cir.) (109 F.3d 1527) (March 26, 1997) (Judge Robert H. Henry)

Article • May 1, 1997 • from P&J May, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

U.S. v. Sinclair, No. 96-5040 (10th Cir.) (109 F.3d 1527) (March 26, 1997) (Judge Robert H. Henry) by Quote from Judge Goldberg about the evils of bartered testimony. QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The evils of bartered testimony - "the virtual purchase of perjury!" "One of the basics of our …

U.S. v. Landerman, No. 94-10028 (5th Cir.) (109 F.3d 1053) (March 31, 1997) (Judge Fortunato P. Benavides)

Article • May 1, 1997 • from P&J May, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

U.S. v. Landerman, No. 94-10028 (5th Cir.) (109 F.3d 1053) (March 31, 1997) (Judge Fortunato P. Benavides) by QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The evils of bartered testimony - "the virtual purchase of perjury!" "One of the basics of our jurisprudence is the search for truth, and by this is …

U.S. v. Hernandez, No. 95-1328 (1st Cir.) (109 F.3d 13) (March 17, 1997) (Judge Juan R. Torruella)

Article • April 1, 1997 • from P&J April, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

U.S. v. Hernandez, No. 95-1328 (1st Cir.) (109 F.3d 13) (March 17, 1997) (Judge Juan R. Torruella) by At first glance, this is but another routine appeal from a drug conviction where the Government's sole evidence came from one of those suddenly-turned-honest drug dealers who was able to trade his …

U.S. v. Taylor, No. 3:99-00339 (D.S.C.) (956 F.Supp. 622) (February 28, 1997) (Judge Falcon B. Hawkins)

Article • March 1, 1997 • from P&J April, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

U.S. v. Taylor, No. 3:99-00339 (D.S.C.) (956 F.Supp. 622) (February 28, 1997) (Judge Falcon B. Hawkins) by This is a powerful and disturbing decision by Judge Hawkins of South Carolina in which he dismissed with prejudice a series of indictments against a number of legislators due to egregious prosecutorial misconduct …

U.S. v. Bradfield, No. 94-60730 (5th Cir.) (103 F.3d 1207) (January 9, 1997) (Judge Jacques L. Jr. Weiner)

Article • February 1, 1997 • from P&J February, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

U.S. v. Bradfield, No. 94-60730 (5th Cir.) (103 F.3d 1207) (January 9, 1997) (Judge Jacques L. Jr. Weiner) by See the subsequent decision in this case, reported at 113 F.3d 515, where the court vacated that portion of this decision that required a special instruction dealing with the credibility of …

U.S. v. Cook, No. 96-1814 (7th Cir.) (102 F.3d 249) (December 5, 1996) (Judge Frank H. Easterbrook)

Article • January 1, 1997 • from P&J January, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

U.S. v. Cook, No. 96-1814 (7th Cir.) (102 F.3d 249) (December 5, 1996) (Judge Frank H. Easterbrook) by Court approved use of special instructions to warn jury that paid informant's testimony may be particularly suspect. In this case, both the majority decision and Judge Ripple's concurring decision discuss at length …

U.S. v. Carmack, No. 96-1568 (7th Cir.) (100 F.3d 1271) (November 15, 1996) (Judge Terrence T. Evans)

Article • December 1, 1996 • from P&J December, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

U.S. v. Carmack, No. 96-1568 (7th Cir.) (100 F.3d 1271) (November 15, 1996) (Judge Terrence T. Evans) by Here the Court upheld a sentence increase based on the "foggy" memory of a drug user informant on the theory that it is unrealistic to expect government witnesses to possess the credibility …

Doe v. U.S., No. 95-5047 (Fed. Cir.) (100 F.3d 1576) (November 15, 1996) (Judge S. Jay Plager)

Article • December 1, 1996 • from P&J December, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

Doe v. U.S., No. 95-5047 (Fed. Cir.) (100 F.3d 1576) (November 15, 1996) (Judge S. Jay Plager) by Although we normally don't comment on cases decided by the Federal Court of Appeals, we felt this case deserved mention because it deals with a recurring problem in our criminal justice system …

Carriger v. Stewart, No. 95-99025 (9th Cir.) (95 F.3d 755) (September 24, 1996) (Judge Alex Kozinski)

Article • October 1, 1996 • from P&J October, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

Carriger v. Stewart, No. 95-99025 (9th Cir.) (95 F.3d 755) (September 24, 1996) (Judge Alex Kozinski) by The cornerstone of Carriger's claim in this case was the testimony of one Robert Dunbar in a 1987 state post-conviction proceedings. Dunbar was the principal witness against Carriger at his 1978 trial for …

U.S. v. Cuellar, No. 95-50118 (9th Cir.) (96 F.3d 1179) (September 17, 1996) (Judge Pamela Ann Rymer)

Article • October 1, 1996 • from P&J October, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

U.S. v. Cuellar, No. 95-50118 (9th Cir.) (96 F.3d 1179) (September 17, 1996) (Judge Pamela Ann Rymer) by QUOTE OF THE WEEK - Some thoughts on the inherent fairness of the obscene payments routinely made to informants: "The use of informants to investigate and prosecute persons engaged in clandestine criminal …

U.S. v. Cuellar, No. 95-50118 (9th Cir.) (96 F.3d 1179) (September 17, 1996) (Judge Pamela Ann Rymer)

Article • October 1, 1996 • from P&J October, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

U.S. v. Cuellar, No. 95-50118 (9th Cir.) (96 F.3d 1179) (September 17, 1996) (Judge Pamela Ann Rymer) by More than 30 years ago, Judge Brown wrote that: "[R]ecognized as is the role of informer in the enforcement of criminal laws, there comes a time when enough is more than enough …

U.S. v. Rios-Calderon, No. 93-1583 (7th Cir.) (80 F.3d 194) (March 19, 1996) (Judge Diane P. Wood)

Article • May 1, 1996 • from P&J May, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

U.S. v. Rios-Calderon, No. 93-1583 (7th Cir.) (80 F.3d 194) (March 19, 1996) (Judge Diane P. Wood) by Quote from Judge Goldberg about the indiscriminate use of bartered testimony from highly-paid informants. Quote of the Week - Some reflective comments on the indiscriminate use of bartered testimony from snitches: "One …

U.S. v. Acosta, No. 94-2047 (1st Cir.) (67 F.3d 334) (October 2, 1995) (Judge Michael Boudin)

Article • November 1, 1995

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Informants and Paid Witnesses

U.S. v. Acosta, No. 94-2047 (1st Cir.) (67 F.3d 334) (October 2, 1995) (Judge Michael Boudin) by Although the Court rejected the defendant's claim of entrapment in this case, it did warn of the potential for abuse when the Government uses informants both as a witness and as an instigator. …