James Garnett v. Richard Morgan

MEMORANDUM

James Garnett, a Washington state prisoner, appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Garnett’s petition is governed by the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . Garnett argues that the State violated Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 , 83 S.Ct. 1194 , 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), by failing to disclose evidence that Garnett could have used to impeach a state witness. We affirm the district court’s denial of Garnett’s petition because we agree with the district court that the suppressed evidence was not material.

At the request of the State, after victim Dan Diorio’s body was found, Kristine Anderson recorded a series of conversations with Garnett’s wife Kymberly Gar-nett. After the recordings were made, but before Garnett’s trial began, prosecutors told Anderson that a private foundation had offered a $5000 reward in the case. The district court found that Anderson understood that she needed the prosecutors’ recommendation to receive the reward, and that the recommendation was dependent on her continued cooperation and testimony at trial. The district court found that the prosecution did not reveal…