United States v. Pate , 16 F. App'x 187 ( 2001 )


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  •                          UNPUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,              
    Plaintiff-Appellee,
    v.                             No. 00-4581
    DONALD BENJAMIN PATE,
    Defendant-Appellant.
    
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the District of South Carolina, at Charleston.
    Patrick Michael Duffy, District Judge.
    (CR-99-316)
    Submitted: May 31, 2001
    Decided: August 6, 2001
    Before MICHAEL, MOTZ, and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges.
    Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
    COUNSEL
    David P. McCann, Charleston, South Carolina, for Appellant. Scott
    N. Schools, United States Attorney, Mary Gordon Baker, Assistant
    United States Attorney, Charleston, South Carolina, for Appellee.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
    Local Rule 36(c).
    2                       UNITED STATES v. PATE
    OPINION
    PER CURIAM:
    Donald Pate was convicted by a jury of robbing a postal service let-
    ter carrier, 
    18 U.S.C. § 2114
     (1994), and sentenced to sixty-three
    months imprisonment. He appeals, claiming that the district court
    erred in denying his motion for new trial based on newly discovered
    evidence. He also claims that the Government’s failure to produce
    that evidence before trial denied him due process.
    Because we find that the evidence—certain employment records of
    Pate and the victim, and handwritten investigators’ notes-would not
    have resulted in Pate’s acquittal, the district court did not abuse its
    discretion in denying Pate’s motion for new trial under Fed. R. Crim.
    P. 33. United States v. Singh, 
    54 F.3d 1182
    , 1190 (4th Cir. 1995);
    United States v. Christy, 
    3 F.3d 765
    , 768 (4th Cir. 1993). Further, we
    find that Pate failed to establish a violation of Brady v. Maryland, 
    373 U.S. 83
     (1963). Pate cannot show that he was prejudiced by the Gov-
    ernment’s failure to disclose investigators’ notes containing the physi-
    cal description of the robber because the description of the robber was
    generally consistent with Pate’s physical characteristics.
    Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s denial of Pate’s motion
    for new trial and affirm Pate’s conviction and sentence. We dispense
    with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are ade-
    quately presented in the materials before the court and argument
    would not aid in the decisional process.
    AFFIRMED
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 00-4581

Citation Numbers: 16 F. App'x 187

Judges: Michael, Motz, Per Curiam, Traxler

Filed Date: 8/6/2001

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 8/6/2023