United States v. Brito
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
907 F.2d 392 (1990)
In Carhuapoma's (defendant's) case, part of a consolidated appeal, the government presented only hearsay testimony from an agent lacking personal knowledge of the underlying facts to obtain a grand jury indictment on drug-trafficking charges, with the prosecutor's leading questions and instructions arguably implying hearsay evidence was equivalent to direct evidence; Carhuapoma, after conviction at a subsequent fair trial, asked the appellate court to exercise its supervisory power to dismiss his indictment based on this grand jury practice.
Whether a grand jury indictment obtained solely through a single witness's hearsay testimony, lacking personal knowledge of the underlying facts, provides grounds to vacate a subsequent conviction absent a showing of prejudice to the defendant.