Opinion ID: 658545
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Velasquez's Request for a Missing-Witness Instruction and His Challenge to the Summation

Text: 163 There was evidence at trial that Victor Spaventa, a brother of Velasquez, had also been employed by the Organization at its mills. Velasquez, who called other witnesses to testify that Velasquez himself was not working in an Organization mill in early 1989, argues (a) that the court should have instructed the jury that since his brother was not called as a witness, the jury could infer that his brother's testimony would have been unfavorable to the government, and (b) that the government's rebuttal summation, mentioning that Velasquez himself had not called Spaventa to testify, was improper. These contentions are meritless. 164 First, Velasquez did not object to the trial court's instruction to the jury that the absence of any witness should not be taken as an indication as to how that witness would have testified, and hence his missing-witness contention in this Court is reviewable only for plain error. See, e.g., United States v. Pabisz, 936 F.2d 80, 83 (2d Cir.1991). Insofar as the trial court's instruction dealt with Spaventa, it not only was not plain error, it was not error at all. A missing-witness charge such as that requested by Velasquez is not appropriate if both sides have the ability to compel the witness's appearance. See, e.g., United States v. Erb, 543 F.2d 438, 444-45 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 981, 97 S.Ct. 493, 50 L.Ed.2d 590 (1976). At the trial in the present case, the government indicated that Spaventa, though not available that day, could be produced on the following Monday. There is no indication that Velasquez himself could not have had Spaventa produced as a witness in his behalf at that time. Indeed, Velasquez later, at his sentencing hearing, did produce Spaventa as a witness. Accordingly, the missing-witness instruction Velasquez sought at trial would have been improper. 165 Finally, the AUSA, in his rebuttal summation querying why Velasquez had not called Spaventa as a witness, was careful not to suggest that Velasquez had any burden of proof or any obligation to adduce any evidence whatever. The comments were well within the boundaries set by this Court in such cases as United States v. Bubar, 567 F.2d 192, 199 (2d Cir.) (government may comment on the failure of defendant to refute government evidence or to support his own claims, so long as its remarks could not be construed as a comment on the defendant's failure to testify or as a suggestion that the defendant has any burden to produce evidence), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 872, 98 S.Ct. 217, 54 L.Ed.2d 151 (1977), and United States v. Parker, 903 F.2d 91, 97-99 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 872, 111 S.Ct. 196, 112 L.Ed.2d 158 (1990) (questions as to why defendant had not summoned his sister to testify held not a basis for reversal since the prosecutor had begun that portion of summation by noting that the defendant had no obligation to call any witness and that the burden rested solely on the government to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and court gave cautionary instruction to jury not to speculate as to why a particular defendant did or did not call a particular potential witness). See also United States v. Walker, 835 F.2d 983, 988-89 (2d Cir.1987); United States v. Cruz, 797 F.2d 90, 93 n. 1 (2d Cir.1986); United States v. Pelusio, 725 F.2d 161, 168 (2d Cir.1983). 166