Strickler v. Greene, 527 U.S. 263, 11 (1999)

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Cite as: 527 U. S. 263 (1999)

Opinion of the Court

emotional impression with me because of his behavior and I, he caught my attention and I paid attention. So I have absolutely no doubt of my identification." Id., at 58.

The Commonwealth did not produce any other witnesses to the abduction. Stoltzfus' daughter did not testify.

The Stoltzfus Documents

The materials that provide the basis of petitioner's Brady claim consist of notes taken by Detective Claytor during his interviews with Stoltzfus, and letters written by Stoltzfus to Claytor. They cast serious doubt on Stoltzfus' confident assertion of her "exceptionally good memory." Because the content of the documents is critical to petitioner's procedural and substantive claims, we summarize their content.

Exhibit 18 is a handwritten note prepared by Detective Claytor after his first interview with Stoltzfus on January 19, 1990, just two weeks after the crime. The note indicates that she could not identify the black female victim. The only person Stoltzfus apparently could identify at this time was the white female. Id., at 306.

Exhibit 2 is a document prepared by Detective Claytor some time after February 1. It contains a summary of his interviews with Stoltzfus conducted on January 19 and January 20, 1990.9 At that time "she was not sure whether she could identify the white males but felt sure she could identify the white female."

8 These materials were originally attached to an affidavit submitted with petitioner's motion for summary judgment on his federal petition for habeas corpus. Because both the District Court and the Court of Appeals referred to the documents by their exhibit numbers, we have done the same.

9 As the District Court pointed out, however, it omits reference to the fact that Stoltzfus originally said that she could not identify the victim— a fact recorded in his handwritten notes. Id., at 387.

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