Free Motion for Discovery - District Court of California - California

Case 3:07-cr-03281-H

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1 ROBERT H. REXRODE, III California State Bar No. 230024 2 427 C Street, Suite 300 San Diego, California 92101 3 Telephone: (619) 233-3169, Ext. 13 Facsimile: (619) 684-3553 4 [email protected] 5 Attorneys for Mr. Javier Soto-Castro 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 (HONORABLE MARILYN L. HUFF) 10 ) ) Plaintiff, ) 12 v. ) ) 13 JAVIER SOTO-CASTRO, ) ) 14 Defendant. ) _________________________________ ) 15 11 16 17 18 I. FACTUAL & PROCEDURAL HISTORY 1 On November 25, 2007, agents arrested Mr. Soto-Castro at the Calexico West Port UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CASE NO. 07cr3281-H STATEMENT OF FACTS AND MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT'S MOTIONS.

19 of Entry. Agents later found approximately 11.96 kilograms of methamphetamine secreted 20 in the car driven by Mr. Soto-Castro. 21 On Secember 5, 2007, the government secured a two-indictment against Mr. Soto-

22 Castro, charging him with importing methamphetamine and possessing methamphetamine 23 with the intent to distribute it. The government secured this indictment from the January 24 2007 Grand Jury. 25 // 26 27 The following facts are based on information provided by the government. Mr. Soto-Castro 28 does not admit their accuracy and reserves the right to challenge them.
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1 2 3 4 II. MOTION COMPEL DISCOVERY Mr. Soto-Castro requests the following discovery. His request is not limited to those

5 items that the prosecutor knows of. It includes all discovery listed below that is in the 6 custody, control, care, or knowledge of any "closely related investigative [or other] 7 agencies." See United States v. Bryan, 868 F.2d 1032 (9th Cir. 1989). 8 (1) Brady Information. The defendant requests all documents, statements, agents'

9 reports, and tangible evidence favorable to the defendant on the issue of guilt and/or which 10 affects the credibility of the government's case. Under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 11 (1963), impeachment as well as exculpatory evidence falls within the definition of evidence 12 favorable to the accused. United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667 (1985); United States v. 13 Agurs, 427 U.S. 97 (1976). 14 (2) Any Proposed 404(b) Evidence. The government must produce evidence of prior

15 similar acts under Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(a)(1) and Fed. R. Evid. 404(b) and any prior 16 convictions which would be used to impeach as noted in Fed. R. Crim. P. 609. In addition, 17 under Fed. R. Evid. 404(b), "upon request of the accused, the prosecution . . . shall provide 18 reasonable notice in advance of trial . . . of the general nature" of any evidence the 19 government proposes to introduce under Fed. R. Evid. 404(b) at trial. The defendant requests 20 notice two weeks before trial to give the defense time to investigate and prepare for trial. 21 (3) Request for Preservation of Evidence. The defendant requests the preservation

22 of all physical evidence that may be destroyed, lost, or otherwise put out of the possession, 23 custody, or care of the government and which relate to the arrest or the events leading to the 24 arrest in this case. This request includes, but is not limited to, the results of any fingerprint 25 analysis, the defendant's personal effects, and any evidence seized from the defendant or any 26 third party. 27 (4) Defendant's Statements. The defendant requests disclosure and production of all

28 statements made by the defendant. This request includes, but is not limited to, the substance 2 07cr3281

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1 of any oral statement made by the defendant, Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(a)(1)(A), and any written 2 or recorded statement made by the defendant. Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(a)(1)(B)(i)-(iii). 3 (5) Tangible Objects. The defendant seeks to inspect and copy as well as test, if

4 necessary, all other documents and tangible objects, including photographs, books, papers, 5 documents, alleged narcotics, fingerprint analyses, vehicles, or copies of portions thereof, 6 which are material to the defense or intended for use in the government's case-in-chief or 7 were obtained from or belong to the defendant. Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(a)(1)(E). 8 (6) Expert Witnesses. The defendant requests the name, qualifications, and a written

9 summary of the testimony of any person that the government intends to call as an expert 10 witness during its case in chief. Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(a)(1)(G). 11 (7) Witness Addresses. The defendant requests access to the government's witnesses.

12 Thus, counsel requests a witness list and contact phone numbers for each prospective 13 government witness. Counsel also requests the names and contact numbers for 14 witnesses to the crime or crimes charged (or any of the overt acts committed in furtherance 15 thereof) who will not be called as government witnesses. 16 (8) Jencks Act Material. Mr. Soto-Castro requests production in advance of trial of

17 material discoverable under the Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3500. Advance production will 18 avoid needless delays at pretrial hearings and at trial. This request includes any "rough" 19 notes taken by the agents in this case. This request also includes production of transcripts 20 of the testimony of any witness before the grand jury. See 18 U.S.C. § 3500(e)(1)-(3). 21 (9) Informants and Cooperating Witnesses. Mr. Soto-Castro requests disclosure of

22 the name(s), address(es), and location(s) of all informants or cooperating witnesses used or 23 to be used in this case, and in particular, disclosure of any informant who was a percipient 24 witness in this case or otherwise participated in the crime charged against Mr. Soto-Castro. 25 Roviaro v. United States, 353 U.S. 52, 61-62 (1957). The government must disclose any 26 information derived from informants which exculpates or tends to exculpate Mr. Soto-Castro. 27 Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963). The government must disclose any information 28 indicating bias on the part of any informant or cooperating witness. Id. 3 07cr3281

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(10) Residual Request. Mr. Soto-Castro intends by this discovery motion to invoke

2 his rights to discovery to the fullest extent possible under the Federal Rules of Criminal 3 Procedure and the Constitution and laws of the United States. 4 5 6 III. MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE FURTHER MOTIONS Mr. Soto-Castro has received no discovery in this case. He requests leave to file

7 further motions if necessary. 8 9 10 11 12 13 Dated: January 7, 2008 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 4 07cr3281 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Robert H. Rexrode ROBERT H. REXRODE, III Attorney for Mr. Soto-Castro [email protected] IV. CONCLUSION Mr. Soto-Castro requests this Court grant his motions.