United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Clancy v. United States, 365 U.S. 312 (1961)

Clancy v. United States

No. 88

Argued January 10, 1961

Decided February 27, 1961

365 U.S. 312

Syllabus

At the trial in a Federal District Court at which petitioners were convicted of violating federal criminal statutes, government witnesses testified to conversations with certain of the petitioners and admitted that they subsequently prepared memoranda of such conversations. Counsel for petitioners moved under the Jencks Act, 28 U.S.C. § 3500, for production of such memoranda, and the motions were denied. Before this Court, the Government alleged that, despite denial of the motion for production, verbatim copies of these memoranda were in fact delivered to counsel for petitioners, although the record did not show it and counsel for petitioners denied it; and the Government contended that the case should merely be remanded to the District Court to determine whether this was so.

Held: at least as to some of the statements, reversible error was committed, and petitioners are entitled to a new trial. Pp. 365 U. S. 313-316.

(a) Such memoranda were "statements" within the meaning of the Act. Pp. 365 U. S. 313-315.

(b) This Court deals with the record as it finds it. Since the production of at least some of the statements withheld was a right of the defendants, it is for the defense, not the District Court or this Court, to determine whether they could be utilized effectively, and petitioners are entitled to a new trial. Pp. 315-316. .,

276 F.2d 617 reversed.

Page 365 U. S. 313