U.S. v. Sarcinelli, 80-5241
| Decision Date | 20 January 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 80-5241,80-5241 |
| Citation | 667 F.2d 5 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant v. Sam Salvatore SARCINELLI and Pamela Sue Messina, Defendants-Appellees. . Unit B * |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Linda Collins-Hertz-Asst. U.S. Atty., Miami, Fla., Carolyn L. Gaines, Washington, D. C., for plaintiff-appellant.
Charles O. Farrar, Jr., Miami, Fla., Bruce E. Wagner, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for Sarcinelli.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Before TJOFLAT, FAY and VANCE, Circuit Judges.
When a party in a criminal case fails to comply with a Fed.R.Crim.P. 16 discovery order, the district court "may order such party to permit the discovery or inspection, grant a continuance, or prohibit the party from introducing evidence not disclosed, or it may enter such other order as it deems just under the circumstances...." Fed.R.Crim.P. 16(d)(2). The question presented in this narcotics case is whether the district court abused the broad discretion accorded it under this rule, see United States v. Campagnuolo, 592 F.2d 852 (5th Cir. 1979), when it suppressed "all physical evidence, all statements made by the defendants (Sam Salvatore Sarcinelli and Pamela Sue Bacon Messina) to any (DEA) agent, informant or any person acting on their behalf, and all electronic recordings or tape recordings previously ordered produced and not produced....", record, vol. II at 422, because the prosecutor failed timely to comply with a magistrate's discovery orders. We view the imposition of this sanction, which will deprive the government of the most probative and incriminating evidence available to it in this case, as an abuse of discretion and therefore reverse the district court.
The conduct of the prosecutor, an Assistant United States Attorney, in ignoring the court's discovery orders was contumacious by any standard. Sanctions certainly were called for. The first discovery order the prosecutor ignored was the "standing discovery order" of the Southern District of Florida entered by the magistrate at the defendants' arraignment on December 5, 1979. The trial was scheduled for the district court's two-week trial term beginning February 11, 1980, and the magistrate instructed the parties to complete all discovery by December 14.
Twice during the discovery period defense counsel contacted the prosecutor to arrange a discovery conference; on each occasion the prosecutor stated that she was having difficulty contacting the DEA case agent and would be unable to produce the discoverable items until she located him. On December 20, six days after the discovery deadline had passed, the prosecutor again informed counsel that she could not locate the DEA agent, and that she would notify counsel when discovery could be made. On the same day, the defense moved the court for a rule 16(d)(2) order compelling the government to comply with the standing discovery order. On January 15, 1980, the magistrate granted the motion and ordered the government to complete discovery by January 19. The magistrate also scheduled a suppression hearing, which involved some of the items the government was to produce, for January 24. The prosecutor failed to comply with the magistrate's January 15 order, so on January 22 the defense moved the court to dismiss the indictment or to suppress the evidence subject to the magistrate's discovery orders.
When the January 24 hearing convened, defense counsel advised the magistrate that the government still had not complied with the magistrate's January 15 discovery order. Counsel also represented that they had been prejudiced by the prosecutor's conduct and therefore were not prepared to go forward with the hearing on their motions to suppress. They urged the magistrate to recommend that the district court dismiss the indictment. The magistrate asked the prosecutor (an Assistant United States Attorney who was standing in for the prosecutor who had been handling the case) the reason for the government's refusal to comply with the magistrate's previous discovery orders, and she offered no lawful reasons. The magistrate thereupon concluded that the defendants were entitled to relief and recommended that the district court dismiss the indictment or, alternatively, bar the government from using the evidence it failed to produce and the evidence the defendants sought to suppress. Record, vol. I at 248-49. On February 6, 1980, the district court adopted the magistrate's alternative recommendation and entered the order, now before us, suppressing the...
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State v. Martin
...sanction that will accomplish the desired result—prompt and full compliance with the court's discovery orders.’ United States v. Sarcinelli, 667 F.2d 5, 7 (5th Cir. Unit B 1982). See also [United States v.] Burkhalter, 735 F.2d [1327] at 1329 [ (11th Cir. 1984) ] ; United States v. Gee, 695......
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U.S. v. Hartley
...party, the feasibility of rectifying that prejudice by a continuance, and any other relevant circumstances.' " United States v. Sarcinelli, 667 F.2d 5, 6-7 (5th Cir. 1982) (quoting 8 Moore's Fed. Practice P 16.04(3) (2d Ed. First, the government explained its last minute decision to offer t......
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U.S. v. Cuellar
...the framework used by this court in evaluating whether to impose sanctions for a violation of rule 16. In United States v. Sarcinelli, 667 F.2d 5, 6-7 (5th Cir. Unit B 1982), we articulated a four-factor test to determine a proper sanction: (1) the reasons why disclosure was not made; (2) t......
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State v. Gravois
...maintain the integrity of the court without punishing the United States for a prosecutor's misconduct. Cf. United States v. Sarcinelli , 667 F.2d 5, 6–7 (5th Cir. Unit B 1982) (least severe sanction should be imposed under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16 for noncompliance with discove......