Garcia-Salas

MEMORANDUM **

Defendant Aureliano Garda-Salas appeals his conviction for possessing heroin in a federal prison, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1791 .

1. The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Defendant’s motion for discovery of the identity of the government’s confidential informant or in excluding Defendant’s lawyer from the court’s in camera review of information relating to the informant. Defendant presented neither concrete factual allegations nor a firm theory demonstrating a need for the discovery of information related to the confidential informant. “The ‘mere suspicion that information will prove helpful is insufficient to require disclosure.’ ” United States v. Sanchez, 908 F.2d 1443, 1451 (9th Cir.1990) (quoting United States v. Johnson, 886 F.2d 1120, 1122 (9th Cir. 1989)).

In view of the overwhelming evidence against Defendant and the absence of a viable defense theory, this case resembles United States v. Henderson, 241 F.3d 638 (9th Cir.2000), more than United States v. Spires, 3 F.3d 1234 (9th Cir.1993). To the extent that Defendant speculated about possible relevance, the court asked the appropriate questions in camera. We are convinced that the…