Opinion ID: 554963
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Deceased Witness's Testimony

Text: 9 A witness named Saul Rubin testified in February 1989 on behalf of the government at the trial of Gabay's codefendant, Lawrence Schmalholz. Rubin then died in May of 1989. Rubin testified that he owned a book bindery and that he cut the sheets of traveler's checks to check size and then stored them in his shop until Gabay picked them up. The transcript of Rubin's testimony was admitted and read to the jury pursuant to Fed.R.Evid. 804(b)(3) & (5). Gabay contends that the admission of Rubin's testimony was error. Determinations regarding the admissibility of evidence are within the discretion of the district court and should not be reversed absent an abuse of discretion. United States v. Collins, 779 F.2d 1520, 1531 (11th Cir.1986). 10 Fed.R.Evid. 804(b)(3) permits the introduction, upon demonstrating the unavailability of the declarant, of statements contrary to the penal interest of the declarant. 11 There is no question that the declarant was unavailable since the witness was dead. The statements of an unavailable declarant are deemed against penal interests under Rule 804(b)(3) where the statements so tend to subject the declarant to criminal liability that a reasonable man in his position would not have made the statement unless he believed it to be true. In applying this objective standard, the Advisory Committee Notes to Rule 804 instruct that whether a statement is in fact against interest must be determined from the circumstances of each case. 56 F.R.D. 183, 328 (1972). 12 Gabay suggests that the statements were not truly against Rubin's interests because, by being granted immunity and cooperating with the investigation, Rubin avoided the filing of criminal charges against him. Precise examination of the content of Rubin's statement and the circumstances leading to its making refutes Gabay's contention that the statement does not fit within the against penal interest exception to the hearsay rule. 13 Courts closely examine the circumstances under which statements are made by codefendants or accomplices to determine whether they are truly against penal interests. See, United States v. Gonzalez, 559 F.2d 1271, 1273 (5th Cir.1977). 3 The rationale for this finer level of scrutiny in criminal cases is the fear that the declarant may be acting out of a strong motive to exonerate himself by misrepresenting his own role and degree of culpability and attempting to shift a portion of the blame upon the codefendant. Lee v. Illinois, 476 U.S. 530, 541, 106 S.Ct. 2056, 2062, 90 L.Ed.2d 514 (1986). Yet, the very content of Rubin's statement repudiates any motive to shift blame or distort Gabay's degree of culpability. The testimony read to the jury clearly and directly implicated the declarant in criminal conduct. Absent a showing of circumstances presenting obvious motives for falsification, the trial court's decision to admit the testimony of a deceased witness will not be disturbed. We find no abuse of discretion by the district court in admitting Rubin's transcript testimony.