The Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a Louisiana man’s murder conviction in its latest evaluation of whether prosecutors in New Orleans withhold evidence to win convictions.
In an 8 to 1 ruling written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the court said prosecutors who worked for former district attorney Harry Connick Sr. should have turned over to defense lawyers statements from one of the survivors of a 1995 shooting rampage that left five dead.
Larry Boatner was the sole witness against Juan Smith, who was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder. But it was not until lawyers were working on Smith’s appeal that they discovered documents in which Boatner initially said he could not identify any of the men involved in the shootings.
Since the court’s 1963 decision inBrady v. Maryland , prosecutors are obligated to turn over evidence that is favorable to the defense and material to the defendant’s guilt or punishment. New Orleans prosecutors argued that the documents were favorable to the defense but would not have changed the jury’s decision.
During oral arguments in November, the justices derided the prosecutors’ case, and Tuesday’s four-page opinion indicated that it had been an easy decision for them.
“Boatner’s testimony was the only evidence linking Smith to the crime,” Roberts wrote. “Boatner’s undisclosed statements were plainly material.”
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the lone dissent, complaining that the other justices did not look at the complete record of the trial in making their decision.
New Orleans prosecutors said immediately after the court’s decision that they will seek to retry Smith, who has also been convicted of a triple murder and is on death row.
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