(DOWNLOAD) "United States v. Stephens" by United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: United States v. Stephens
- Author : United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Release Date : January 02, 2005
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 71 KB
Description
This petition for a writ of habeas corpus presents the question whether the prosecution in a robbery case suppressed evidence in violation of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963). In analyzing this issue, the Washington Supreme Court failed to consider the cumulative effect of the undisclosed evidence and thus its decision was contrary to clearly established Supreme Court precedent. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1) (permitting grants of habeas corpus where the state court issued a decision that was contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law); Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419, 436-37 & n.10 (1995) (holding that the States disclosure obligation under Brady turns on the cumulative effect of the withheld evidence, not an item by item analysis). Even so, we conclude on de novo review that the witness who would have been impeached by the suppressed evidence was so severely discredited and not so critical to the prosecutions case that there is no reasonable probability that the withheld evidence would have affected the outcome. Accordingly, we affirm the district courts denial of the petition.