Strickler v. Greene, 527 U.S. 263, 13 (1999)

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

Opinion of the Court

In Exhibit 8, which is undated and summarizes the events described in her trial testimony, Stoltzfus commented:

"So where is the 3x4 card? . . . It would have been very nice if I could have remembered all this at the time and had simply gone to the police with the information. But I totally wrote this off as a trivial episode of college kids carrying on and proceeded with my own full-time college load at JMU. . . . Monday, January 15th. I was cleaning out my car and found the 3x4 card. I tore it into little pieces and put it in the bottom of a trash bag." Id., at 326.

There is a dispute between the parties over whether petitioner's counsel saw Exhibits 2, 7, and 8 before trial. The prosecuting attorney conceded that he himself never saw Exhibits 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 until long after petitioner's trial, and they were not in the file he made available to petitioner.11

For purposes of this case, therefore, we assume that petitioner proceeded to trial without having seen Exhibits 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6.12

11 The prosecutor recalled that Exhibits 2, 7, and 8 had been in his open file, id., at 365-368, but the lawyer who represented Henderson at his trial swore that they were not in the file, id., at 330; the recollection of petition-er's trial counsel was somewhat equivocal. Lead defense counsel was sure he had not seen the documents, id., at 300, while petitioner's other lawyer signed an affidavit to the effect that he does "remember the information contained in [the documents]" but "cannot recall if I have seen these specific documents," id., at 371.

12 Although the parties have not advanced an explanation for the non-disclosure of the documents, perhaps it was an inadvertent consequence of the fact that Harrisonburg is in Rockingham County and the trial was conducted by the Augusta County prosecutor. We note, however, that the prosecutor is responsible for "any favorable evidence known to the others acting on the government's behalf in the case, including the police." Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U. S. 419, 437 (1995). Thus, the Commonwealth, through its prosecutor, is charged with knowledge of the Stoltzfus materials for purposes of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U. S. 83 (1963).

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