Opinion ID: 6982210
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Dismissal of Defense Witnesses

Text: Woods and Chad Gibbs each argue that the district court improperly excused two defense witnesses from testifying. Each witness invoked through counsel his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. Woods attempted to call Curtis West as a defense witness with respect to Count 125, which related to a sale of crack Woods made to Agent Russell on July 15, 1994. The district court excluded West from testifying after his attorney told the court that West would invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege. See J.A. at 1913-14 (Bench Conference). Chad Gibbs argues that he sought to call West and Karlos Davis as defense witnesses. The district court excused Davis after Davis's attorney confirmed that Davis would invoke his privilege against self-incrimination with respect to all questions. See J.A. at 1894-1902 (Bench Conference). There is some evidence in the record that Gibbs was going to call West to testify, see J.A. at 1913-14, but no evidence that he sought to call Davis. Both West and Davis had previously pleaded guilty in federal court to drug trafficking crimes. A defendant's right to force a witness to testify must yield to that witness' assertion of his Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination, where it is `grounded on a reasonable fear of danger of prosecution.' United States v. Gaitan-Acevedo, 148 F.3d 577, 588 (6th Cir.) (quoting Limited States v. Damiano, 579 F.2d 1001, 1003 (6th Cir.1978)), cert. denied sub nom. Crehore v. United States, - U.S. -, 119 S.Ct. 256, 142 L.Ed.2d 210 (1998). The trial judge has broad discretion to determine whether or not the claim to the privilege has merit. Id. However, “the law of this circuit requires the subpoenaed witness ‘to take the witness stand and assert the [Fifth Amendment] privilege in response to particular questions.’ ” United States v. Mahar, 801 F.2d 1477, 1495 (6th Cir.1986) (brackets in original) (quoting United States v. Stephens, 492 F.2d 1367, 1374 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 852, 95 S.Ct. 93, 42 L.Ed.2d 83 (1974)). A witness cannot meet the reasonable-fear-of-prosecution prong by simply making a blanket assertion of the privilege against self-incrimination. Id. However, in certain when it is clear that the witness intends to invoke the privilege with respect to any question asked, “a particularized inquiry by the court would [be] futile.” United States v. Medina, 992 F.2d 573, 587 (6th Cir.1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1109, 114 S.Ct. 1049, 127 L.Ed.2d 371 (1994). Here the district judge properly found that each witness had a reasonable fear of prosecution in state court or in federal court for federal crimes not encompassed by their plea agreements. Under Ohio law, state prosecution following federal prosecution is not barred by double jeopardy. See State v. Fletcher, 26 Ohio St.2d 221, 271 N.E.2d 567 (1971), cert. denied sub nom. Walker v. Ohio, 404 U.S. 1024, 92 S.Ct. 699, 30 L.Ed.2d 675 (1972). It is beyond dispute, however, that the district judge committed error when he permitted the witnesses to claim their Fifth Amendment privileges without taking the stand, regardless of whether permitting the witnesses to assert a blanket privilege would have been acceptable once they took the stand. The district court therefore committed error. Woods’s attorney made a proffer of the evidence that West would offer in favor of Woods’s case. See J.A. at 1897-98, 1915. We hold that this proffer brought the issue of the scope of West’s Fifth Amendment privilege to the attention of the district court and therefore review the district court’s error with respect to Woods under the harmless error standard. See Fed. R.Crim. P. 52(a). Woods proffered that West would testify that Woods was not the source of the crack that formed the basis of Woods’s 21 U.S.C. § 841 conviction on Count 125 of the indictment. See J.A. at 1915. Not only is it likely that West would have invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege with respect to knowledge of any specific drug transactions, but we note that the government also referred to specific evidence it had obtained directly from Woods that would rebut the proffered hypothetical testimony. See J.A. at 1915-16. We cannot conclude that any evidence that might have been admitted would have had an effect on Woods’s conviction. We therefore hold that the district court’s error was harmless. Although Chad Gibbs argues that he sought to call both Davis and West as defense witnesses, he did not object to the district court’s decision to excuse West and Davis from testifying and did not offer to proffer testimony with respect to either. We therefore review the district court’s error with respect to Chad Gibbs under the plain error standard. See Fed. R.Ceim. P. 52(b). Gibbs does not state what exculpatory evidence, if any, these potential witnesses would have offered to which they would not have claimed their Fifth Amendment privilege, or to which they would not have had a Fifth Amendment privilege. The burden is on the defendant to show prejudice under the plain error test. See United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 735, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993). Gibbs has not done so.