Opinion ID: 495066
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the deposition of an available witness

Text: 6 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 32(a)(3) limits the use of a deposition. A deposition may not be introduced into the record at a trial or hearing for any purpose unless the witness is unavailable or exceptional circumstances justify its admission. 1 Here, the trial court erred in allowing the plaintiff's counsel to introduce any of Graeter's deposition. A deposition is an acceptable substitute for oral testimony when in-court observation of the witness is extremely difficult or virtually impossible. 2 Rule 32(a)(3) provides that a deposition is admissible if the witness is: over 100 miles from the place of trial; (2) out of the country; (3) infirm or unduly aged; or (4) that he had been unable to procure his attendance by subpoena. None of these exceptions applies and, as the briefs point out, the district court made no finding that exceptional circumstances justified admission of the deposition. 7 The burden of showing the witness's unavailability under Rule 32(a)(3) rests with the party seeking to introduce the deposition, in this case the plaintiff. The plaintiff did not satisfy his burden by stating merely that he did not know where Graeter was. The plaintiff's burden was to provide an explanation for the witness's absence. Indeed, in open court, the defendant's counsel informed the court and plaintiff's counsel where the witness was available; he worked for the Harris County Rehabilitation Center, less than one mile from the federal courthouse. The same information was contained in the deposition that the plaintiff sought to introduce! The plaintiff's counsel made no effort to locate and subpoena Graeter as a witness, although Graeter was listed as a witness in the pre-trial order. He made no effort to subpoena Graeter after the colloquy with the court and the plaintiff's counsel. The trial court clearly erred in admitting the deposition. 8 Given that Graeter's deposition was admitted in violation of Rule 32(a)(3), it is necessary for this Court to decide whether reversible error was committed. The deposition testimony was highly prejudicial: it was the only probative evidence that Deputy Sheriff Graeter knowingly made false statements regarding the plaintiff to the press. Corley was held liable on the basis of Graeter's malicious statements. Graeter's deposition testimony established that Jauch had not admitted wrongdoing when Graeter had told the press just the opposite. 9 Graeter was the only person who spoke with Houston TV Channel 13 and the Houston Post. These statements were the only statements that the jury found to be false and made with malice. Beyond a doubt, the trial court's admission of the deposition in violation of Rule 32(a)(3) was so highly prejudicial that it constituted reversible error. 10