Case o' The Week: Bybee Boosts Immunity, Straub

Judge Bybee (left) gives a big boost to defense immunity in an important decision that elaborates on the Williams test -- permitting the effects of the government's immunity decisions to establish a constitutional violation. See United States v. Straub, 2008 WL 3547541, (Aug. 15, 2008), decision available here.

Players: Decision by Judge Bybee, joined by Judges D.W. Nelson and Kleinfeld.

Facts: Straub, a member of Oregon’s “White Neck Crew,” allegedly dealt drugs and shot at other dealers as he stole from them. Id. at *1. An immunized government snitch pegged Straub as the shooter in one charged robbery. Id. The defense proffered an impeachment witness who would recount a bar confession wherein the snitch admitted to being the shooter. Id. at *2. This defense witness, however, wanted immunity – and the court refused to give it. Id. at *2-*3.

After conviction at trial, the Ninth remanded in a mem dispo for an evidentiary hearing on the need for court-ordered immunity. Id. at *3.

This hearing revealed that the government had offered “use immunity, informal immunity, sentence reductions, and even cash . . . to the prosecution’s other witnesses for their testimony against Straub” Id. at *5. Eleven of twelve government witnesses had gotten some sort of break. Id. The district court nonetheless stood by its initial denial of immunity, finding no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct. Id. at *7. Straub appealed again.

Issue(s): “Straub claims that the . . . court’s refusal to compel the prosecution to grant use immunity to [his] defense witness . . . violated his due process rights under the Fifth Amendment . . . .

We must address the question left open by Williams, whether a defendant requesting compelled use immunity on the ground that his witness has relevant testimony that directly contradicts that of an immunized prosecution witness must prove that the prosecution’s purpose in denying use immunity to the defense witness was to distort the fact-finding process, or merely that the prosecution’s selective denial of use immunity had the effect of distorting the fact-finding process.” Id. at *1.

Held: “Even where the government has not denied a defense witness immunity for the very purpose of distorting the fact-finding process, the government may have stacked the deck against the defendant in a way that has severely distorted the fact-finding process at trial . . . . Id. at *12.

"[W]here the government has liberally used its discretion to grant immunity to numerous witnesses, and the defendant’s witness could offer relevant testimony that would directly contradict that of an immunized government witness, the trial may become so fundamentally unfair that the defendant’s due process rights are implicated.” Id.

“We now hold that for a defendant to compel use immunity the defendant must show that: (1) the defense witness’s testimony was relevant; and (2) either (a) the prosecution intentionally caused the defense witness to invoke the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination with the purpose of distorting the fact-finding process; or (b) the prosecution granted immunity to a government witness in order to obtain that witness’s testimony, but denied immunity to a defense witness whose testimony would have directly contradicted that of the government witness, with the effect of so distorting the fact-finding process that the defendant was denied his due process right to a fundamentally fair trial.” Id. at *14.

"We reverse the district court's denial of Straub's request to compel use immunity." Id. at *18.

Of Note: Straub is a leading case on defense immunity with a valuable new rule for the most-likely trial scenarios.

In Williams v. Woodford, the Ninth held that a refusal to grant immunity rises to a constitutional violation when 1) the defense witness’s testimony is relevant, and 2) the prosecution’s refusal to grant immunity deliberately distorted the fact-finding process. 384 F.3d 567, 600 (9th Cir. 2004). Good luck, of course, getting a prosecutor to admit to “deliberate distortion.”

Straub’s new rule is that the defense can prove this second prong by showing that the effects of immunity for government witnesses – with no immunity for defense witnesses – “stacked the deck against the defendant.” Id. at *12. This is a much more manageable defense burden: proof of prosecutorial intent via proof of effects.

How to Use: Ask! The government here argued that the defense never formally requested use immunity. Id. at *16 n.9. Luckily, Judge Bybee rejects that complaint as too formalistic – but why run the risk? A brief letter or a formal request on the record for a government grant of immunity helps to block this government dodge.

For Further Reading: It helps to know the DOJ’s immunity rules when going down this road. They can be found here.




Image of Judge Jay Bybee from http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2008/02/13/circuit-judge-accused-of-pro-torture-bias/

Steven Kalar, Senior Litigator N.D. Cal. FPD. Website at www.ndcalfpd.org.



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