10-2226 U.S. v. Thornton

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Evidence
Expert testimony

A defendant must show prejudice from the government’s failure to timely disclose an expert’s qualifications to exclude the witness from testifying.

“We will assume for the sake of argument that the government’s disclosures were inadequate even though the state of the record does not allow us to assess the disclosures. Even if the disclosures were inadequate, Thornton would still be required to establish that any Rule 16 violation hampered his opportunity to prepare a defense or that the violation substantially influenced the jury. United States v. White, 582 F.3d 787, 804 (7th Cir. 2009), cert. denied, 130 S. Ct. 1542 (2010). See also United States v. Stevens, 380 F.3d 1021, 1026 (7th Cir. 2004) (holding that a Rule 16 error will be reversed only for abuse of discretion that is prejudicial to the substantial rights of the defendant). Thornton has not even attempted to establish prejudice from the court’s decision to overrule his Rule 16 objections. Thornton has not demonstrated, for example, that he was unduly surprised or lacked an adequate opportunity to prepare a defense. Stevens, 380 F.3d at 1026. Moreover, when the government violates Rule 16, the remedy is not necessarily the exclusion of the expert evidence. Id. Instead, the district court may adopt a number of different remedies, including granting a continuance. Id. The court offered a continuance at one point in the discussion and Thornton did not accept the court’s offer, instead apparently choosing to go forward with the information provided.”
Affirmed.

10-2226 U.S. v. Thornton

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Crabb, J., Rovner, J.

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