Criminal Procedure–Evidence–Composite Drawing Not Producible Under Jencks Act–United States v. Zurita

Following a bank robbery, the bank manager and his wife provided descriptions enabling an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to compose drawings of the robbers which were then “approved” by each of these witnesses as being substantially accurate. At the defendant’s trial four years later, he was identified by the manager and his wife as one of the robbers. The defendant, in an attempt to impeach their testimony, requested that the government be compelled under the Jencks Act to produce the original composite drawings. The trial court denied this request, stating that the production of these drawings was not required by the Act. On appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, held, affirmed, one judge dissenting. A composite drawing is not a producible “statement” within the terms of the Jencks Act.