United States v. Tennyson

88 F.R.D. 119, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14938
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Tennessee
DecidedJuly 14, 1980
DocketNo. CR-2-80-13
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 88 F.R.D. 119 (United States v. Tennyson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Tennyson, 88 F.R.D. 119, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14938 (E.D. Tenn. 1980).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDERS

NEESE, District Judge.

The motion of the defendants Mr. and Mrs. Tennyson as it relates to a bill of particulars, Rule 7(f), Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, hereby is DENIED for the failure of the movants to comply with § II A.5.(7)(b) of this Court’s Plan for Prompt Disposition of Criminal Cases,1 and as seeking evidentiary and other matters which are not the proper subject of a bill of particulars.2 As to everything to which it is directed except the grand jury testimony, the motion of the same defendants for the production of records, reports and/or documents hereby is DENIED for the failure of such motion to comply with § II A.5.(7)(b), supra, and as premature. It does not appear that the movants have first sought unsuccessfully the materials from the prosecution. United States v. Clevenger, D.C. Tenn. (1978), 458 F.Supp. 354, 357 [4], 356 [2]. That motion should have been directed first to the United States attorney of this district in the form of a request for discovery. See 16(a)(1)(A), (B), (C), (D), (d)(2), Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

[121]*121The defendants seek also the pretrial disclosure to them of all testimony given before the grand jury which indicted them herein. That motion was properly addressed to the Court. See Rule 6(e)(2)(C)(i), Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.3 Of course, it is clear, and the prosecution readily concedes, that each defendant is entitled, upon request, to a copy of his or her own recorded testimony before the grand jury. Rule 16(a)(1)(A), Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Furthermore, it is not disputed that, under the Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3500(b), (e)(3), the defendants will be entitled, upon motion, to a copy of any grand jury testimony of a witness called by the prosecution at trial which relates to the subject matter as to which he or she has testified at trial. However, “ * * * the United States is generally under no duty to provide the statement of a government witness until that witness has testified on direct examination in the case. * * * ” United States v. Carter, C.A. 6th (1980), 621 F.2d 238, 240. Even the fact that the statement may have been made by a codefendant “ * * * cannot overcome the 18 U.S.C. § 3500 mandate. * * * ” Idem.

It is the settled rule in this circuit that before a defendant may have pretrial access to grand jury testimony (other than his own testimony), he must demonstrate a particularized need therefor. United States v. Stephens, C.A. 6th (1974), 492 F.2d 1367, 1375 [12], certiorari denied (1974), 419 U.S. 852, 95 S.Ct. 93, 42 L.Ed.2d 83 and 419 U.S. 874, 95 S.Ct. 136, 42 L.Ed.2d 114; United States v. Johnson, C.A. 6th (1969), 414 F.2d 22, 28-29 [9], certiorari denied (1970), 397 U.S. 991, 90 S.Ct. 1112, 25 L.Ed.2d 399; United States v. Hensley, C.A. 6th (1967), 374 F.2d 341, 352-353 [20], certiorari denied (1967), 388 U.S. 923, 87 S.Ct. 2139, 18 L.Ed.2d 1373, rehearing denied (1967), 389 U.S. 891, 88 S.Ct. 25,19 L.Ed.2d 210; United States v. Luxenberg, C.A. 6th (1967), 374 F.2d 241, 247 [6]; United States v. Felice, D.C. Ohio (1978), 481 F.Supp. 79, 83-84, n. 4 (Neese, J.), affirmed C.A. 6th (1979), 609 F.2d 276. Although Mr. and Mrs. Tennyson asserted that they have a particularized need for the disclosure to them of the grand jury testimony, the reasons they give in support of that assertion appear to be little more than a generalized desire by them to see what happened before the grand jury in the hope that something might turn-up therein which would help them defend against the charges herein.

The Court thinks that the movants have not demonstrated the existence of a particularized need for the grand jury minutes which outweighs the policy of its secrecy. See Pittsburg Plate Glass Co. v. United States (1959), 360 U.S. 395, 400, 79 S.Ct. 1237, 1241, 3 L.Ed.2d 1323, 1327 (headnote 6). Every defendant would like to know what went on before the grand jury which indicted him; however, disclosure of those proceedings is not proper merely for discovery purposes. See United States v. Partin, D.C.La. (1970), 320 F.Supp. 275, 283 [11]. This aspect of the motion hereby is

DENIED.

ON ISSUE OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The defendants Mr. Howard G. Tennyson and Mrs. Mary C. Taylor Tennyson, represented to the Court to be husband and wife, are represented in this criminal action by the retained counsel of their choice, John S. McLellan, Esq. Citing the possibility that a conflict of their respective interests, might arise from such dual representation, the prosecution moved the Court “ * * * to conduct an appropriate inquiry * * * ” into this matter. To the extent indicated hereinafter, the Court will so inquire limitedly.

The Constitution, Sixth Amendment, guarantees to every defendant the fundamental right to the adequate representation [122]*122of counsel during the trial of a criminal action. An attorney who represents codefendants whose interests conflict cannot provide the adequate legal assistance required by the Sixth Amendment. Holloway v. Arkansas (1978), 435 U.S. 475, 481-482, 98 S.Ct. 1173, 1177, 55 L.Ed.2d 426, 432-433.

The possibility of conflict-of-interest inheres in nearly every instance of multiple representation, however, “ * * * multiple representation does not violate the Sixth Amendment unless it gives rise to a conflict of interest. * * * ” Cuyler v. Sullivan (1980), 446 U.S. 335, 348, 100 S.Ct. 1708, 1718, 64 L.Ed.2d 333, 346 [12]. Even where such conflict exists, the right of a defendant to counsel of his or her own choosing must be respected, and he or she has a perfect right to waive the right to the assistance of an attorney unhindered by a conflict-of-interests. Holloway v. Arkansas, supra, 435 U.S. at 482, 98 S.Ct. at 1177, 55 L.Ed.2d at 433 [3b], n. 5.

Counsel for Mr. and Mrs.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
88 F.R.D. 119, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14938, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-tennyson-tned-1980.