Talmadge Eugene Hurst v. United States

There is but one question before us, namely: Was appellant denied a fair trial when the court refused to require disclosure of an informant’s name?

Appellant was charged with the illegal importation of eighty-six pounds of marijuana (21 U.S.C. § 176a). He was found guilty on each of two counts and sentenced to ten years on each count to run concurrently.

The facts are contained in a seven page “Condensed Narrative Statement of Evidence” (Tr. pp. 13-19).

Appellant states in his Brief, p. 6:

Thus appellant equates “a fair trial” with the requirement that the government name the informant who gave the government information concerning the marijuana in the appellant’s car when it crossed the border.

Admittedly, there is no fixed rule with respect to such disclosure. There is involved a balancing of the public’s interest in stopping criminal acts and preventing wrongdoing (and the disadvantage inherent in any disclosures of an informant’s identity) and the individual’s right to prepare his defense. Roviaro v. United States, 353 U.S. 53 , 77 S.Ct. 623 , 1 L.Ed.2d 639 (1957).

That disclosure of an informant’s name, particularly in a border-crossing case involving narcotics, can…