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UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
SHERMAN DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
JOHN DOE(05)
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§
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§ CASE
NUMBER 4:05CR79
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COMBINED MOTION AND MEMORANDUM
IN
SUPPORT FOR BILL OF PARTICULARS
NOW COMES defendant JOHN DOE, through
undersigned counsel, and moves that the
Court direct the
Government to file a bill
of particulars pursuant to Fed. Rule Crim.
P. 7(f) clarifying the indictment in the
instant case in the following respects:
1. With respect to Count One of the Indictment,
please state with particularity the basis
and manner and means, including the date,
place, time, and names of alleged participants,
of the simple allegation that Defendant
DOE did knowingly or intentionally combine,
conspire, confederate and agree together
with other defendants and with other persons
known and unknown to the Grand Jury to
distribute or possess with intent to distribute: “GHB”, “Ecstasy/MDMA”,
cocaine, “crack” cocaine, methamphetamine,
and marijuana.
2. With respect to Count One of the Indictment,
please state with particularity the time
period(s) that Defendant RODNEY DOE is
alleged to have participated in the conspiracy.
3. With respect to Count One of the Indictment,
if the government considers the persons
listed in the discovery material received
to date to be unindicted co-conspirators,
then please state with particularity how
many conspiracies are alleged to have existed,
the identities of the co-conspirators,
and the involvement of each person.
4. With respect to Count One of the Indictment,
if indeed the government considers the
persons listed in the discovery material
to be unindicted co-conspirators, then
please state with particularity the manner
and means of the alleged conspiracy(s),
as there is not an indication as to which
acts constituted this conspiracy(s), how
it (or multiple conspiracies) occurred,
who was involved, or how such persons were
involved.
5. With respect to Count 1 of
the Indictment, please also state with
particularity each and every overt act
allegedly committed in furtherance of the
conspiracy alleged in Count One, by whom
each act was allegedly committed, and the
date, time, and place of occurrence of
each act.
6. With respect of Count One of the Indictment,
describe those alleged co-conspirators
both known and unknown to the grand jurors
and if there be no evidence of such, then
strike the surplusage.
7. With respect to Count One of the Indictment,
please also state with particularity each
and every act allegedly committed by Defendant
RODNEY DOE which constitutes the crime
alleged in Count One, with whom each act
was allegedly committed, and the date,
time, and place of occurrence of each act.
I.
A bill of particulars should be granted
where the matters requested are necessary
to inform defendant of the charges against
him with sufficient precision to enable
him to prepare his defense and avoid surprise
or necessary to enable defendant to plead
a double jeopardy bar of further prosecution
for the same offense. United States v.
Gorel, 622 F.2d 100 (5th Cir. 1979), cert.
denied, 445 U.S. 943 (1980); see also,
United States v. Matos-Peralta, 691 F.Supp.
1988 (S.D.N.Y. 1988) (proper function of
bill of particulars is to apprise defendant
of charges against him with necessary precision
so as to avoid unfair surprise at trial,
and to preclude second prosecution for
the same offense). See also, Grady v. Corbin
, U.S. , 110 S.Ct. 2084 (1990).
II.
Bills of particulars are especially necessary
in order to enable a defendant adequately
to meet the charges against him and mount
a competent defense. See, e.g., United
States v. Taylor, 707 F.Supp. 696 (S.D.N.Y.
1989)(defendant charged with conspiracy
to distribute drugs was entitled to bill
of particulars stating names of all persons
government would claim at trial were co-conspirators,
dates that each such defendant joined conspiracy,
and approximate dates and locations of
any meetings or conversations at which
government would contend defendant joined
conspiracy, in order to allow defendant
to prepare defense and to define crime
charged sufficiently to bar future prosecution
for the same offense); see also, United
States v. Williams, 113 F.R.D. 177 (M.D.
Fla. 1986)(motion for bill of particulars
granted insofar as it sought a list of
unindicted co-conspirators, at least when
that information was not otherwise known
to defendants).
Although the decision to grant a bill
of particulars or not is within the sound
discretion of the trial court, the Fifth
Circuit has ruled that when faced with
a conspiracy indictment a bill of particulars
is a proper procedure for discovering the
names of unindicted co-conspirators who
the government plans to use as witnesses.
United States v. Barrentine, 591 F.2d 1069
(5th Cir. 1979).
If, on the other hand, the government
is not aware of other conspirators the
language referring to same should be stricken.
The prejudice to the accused of including
unnecessary and unwarranted allegations
is that: 1. the accused will be forced
to spend precious time and energy attempting
to refute allegations the government may
have no intention of attempting to prove;
2. the reading of the allegation to the
jury will make it appear that the government
has evidence of a far greater conspiracy
than that of which the government has actual
evidence.
The above-requested information
is necessary to Defendant DOE in order
to avoid unfair surprise at trial and to
prepare an adequate defense.
WHEREFORE,
premises considered, Defendant DOE moves
that the Court exercise its discretionary
power under Fed. Rule Crim. P. 7(f) and
order the Government to file a bill of
particulars in this matter as more specifically
requested herein.
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Respectfully submitted,
________________________________
DAVID FINN
SBOT #07026900
2828 N. Harwood Street, Suite 1950
Dallas, TX 75201
Tele. (214) 651-1121
FAX (214) 953-1366
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CERTIFICATE OF
CONFERENCE
I hereby certify that I, David Finn,
attorney for defendant, attempted to confer
with Assistant United States Attorney Heather
Battan regarding this motion and I was
unable to reach her.
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_________________________________
David Finn
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, David Finn, hereby certify that on
the 30 th day of June, 2005, a copy of
the foregoing motion was mailed via first-class
mail to Assistant United States Attorney
Heather Battan, Plano United States Attorney’s
Office.
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_________________________________
David Finn |
UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
SHERMAN DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
JOHN DOE(05) |
§
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§CASE
NUMBER 4:05CR79
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ORDER
Considering the motion for bill of particulars
of Defendant JOHN DOE,
IT IS ORDERED that said motion is GRANTED
/ DENIED and the Government IS / IS NOT
directed to file a bill of particulars
as requested in Defendant DOE’S motion.
Ordered this ____ day of __________________,
2005.
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________________________________
PAUL BROWN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT
JUDGE
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