Opinion ID: 349452
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Requiring Appellants to Rest Without Witnesses

Text: 38 Appellants Ramsey and Taylor each claim that they were improperly required to rest before having an opportunity to produce material witnesses. In the case of Ramsey, who is represented on this appeal by counsel but who has also submitted a supplemental brief pro se together with an application for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (which, for the sake of consideration of his brief, we hereby grant), the witness was one Christine Green, a cousin of Government witness Ellis. The court informed the defendants on Friday, March 19, 1976, that if none of their witnesses appeared the following Monday they would be required to rest. The prosecutor at that time told the court that the appellant had asked for help in locating Christine Green the previous day. The prosecutor asserted that he did not know where she was and that the telephone of her cousin had been delisted, so that he could not contact her. On Monday morning the prosecutor advised the court that he had been able to get Miss Green's telephone number and had spoken with her mother, that he had told the mother that he was not subpoenaing Christine Green but would like her to appear at 9:45 a. m. at his office. She did not do so. Counsel for Ramsey conceded knowing of the existence of a woman named Christine for approximately three weeks before inquiring about her last name or whereabouts. We see no good reason for defense counsel's delay in failing to seek to obtain the necessary information and to request a subpoena by affidavit to the court under Fed.R.Crim.P. 17(b). See United States v. Jones, 487 F.2d 676, 679 (9th Cir. 1973). Having failed to move timely, appellant may not now complain about the absence of the witness. See Ray v. United States, 367 F.2d 258, 264-67 (8th Cir. 1966), cert. denied, 386 U.S. 913, 87 S.Ct. 863, 17 L.Ed.2d 785 (1967). 9 39 Even considering the question as if a timely request had been made, however, there is no indication either in the brief by counsel or in the record that Miss Green's testimony would have been beneficial to appellant. Evidently she was present on a trip that Ellis took with Ramsey to New York from Washington. All that we have before us is the pro se claim that she would have testified that appellant did not in fact participate in any conspiratorial acts or conversations during the trip. 40 Appellant Taylor's claim is somewhat more complex. He argues that he asked the Government on or about February 3, 1976, early in the trial, for production of one Cornelius Garner, also known as Moochie, who was at the Metropolitan Correction Center in New York at that time. The exchange of counsel in court made it clear that Garner would be produced only upon timely notice from defense counsel, and the Government advised the court of its position that we cannot keep everybody over at MCC. Some five weeks later, on March 10, 1976, Taylor's counsel stated that he wanted to speak to Garner, who had been moved to a federal prison in Virginia. On March 12 a writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum was issued to have Garner produced. On March 17, the Government informed the court that the United States Marshal was arranging for Garner to be flown to New York, but two days later he had not yet arrived. On Monday, March 22, he still had not arrived; the court at that point observed that the Government had cooperated to the best of their ability, echoing the March 19 statement of Taylor's counsel that the Government had been more than cooperative in helping the defense to obtain witnesses. The court then held, over Taylor's objection and motion for a continuance, that the defense would be deemed to have rested. 41 While ordinarily it would be of the greatest moment if a defendant were denied his right to compel the attendance of witnesses in his defense, see Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 818, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975); Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14, 18-19, 87 S.Ct. 1920, 18 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1967), particularly when the defendant seeks a witness in Government custody, here there was no showing either at the time of the request or subsequently as to what favorable evidence Garner would have provided if he had been called to testify and had waived his Fifth Amendment privilege. It is not improper to deny a request for a subpoena where the testimony of the witness would be only cumulative, United States v. Rosa, 493 F.2d 1191, 1194 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 850, 95 S.Ct. 89, 42 L.Ed.2d 80 (1974), where the defendant is vague as to the witness's potential evidence and is also aware that the witness might invoke the Fifth Amendment, United States v. Wyler,487 F.2d 170, 173-74 (2d Cir. 1973), or where the witness would only give irrelevant testimony not necessary to an adequate defense, United States v. Romano, 482 F.2d 1183, 1195 (5th Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1129, 94 S.Ct. 866, 38 L.Ed.2d 753 (1974). See also United States v. Sellers, 520 F.2d 1281, 1285-86 (4th Cir. 1975), vacated on other grounds, 424 U.S. 961, 96 S.Ct. 1453, 47 L.Ed.2d 728 (1976). Cf. Fed.R.Evid. 403 (relevant evidence may be excluded because of considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence). Since there was never any showing of what Garner's testimony would be, it was proper to deny the continuance.