Opinion ID: 1955378
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Showing Videotape Deposition To Witnesses

Text: Aware that Lawrence was dying of cancer, the State obtained an Order of Court authorizing the perpetuation of his testimony by videotape deposition. See Maryland Rules 4-261 and 2-416. The deposition was taken on 22 January 1986. [3] Thereafter, but before trial, the defendant filed a Motion to Exclude Testimony of Witnesses alleging that certain state's witnesses had been shown the videotape of Lawrence's testimony. Earp claimed that the showing of the deposition violated the provisions of Rule 2-416(i) (custody of videotape deposition) and Rule 4-321 (exclusion of witnesses). He also contended that allowing the testimony of the witnesses who had been influenced by the testimony of the victim would violate his constitutional guarantee of due process. [4] It appears that the prosecutor showed all of the deposition of Lawrence to police officers Jacobs and Ehlers, and to Christine Garvin, Lawrence's fiancee. He showed part of the deposition to David Pagan, omitting the portion that depicted Lawrence selecting the defendant's picture from a photographic array. The prosecutor explained that he did not show Pagan the portion of the deposition in which Lawrence identified Earp because he knew that Pagan, who had seen the stabbing, would be asked to identify Earp during his testimony. The defendant concedes that the trial judge's ruling cannot constitute reversible error as it pertains to his request to exclude the testimony of Ehlers and Garvin, because Ehlers did not testify and Garvin had been present, without objection, when Lawrence gave his deposition testimony. We consider first the defendant's contention that the prosecutor's action was in violation of Rule 2-416(i). [5] That rule provides: (i) Custody.  The attorney for the party taking the deposition or any other person designated by the court or agreed to by the parties represented at the deposition shall take custody of the videotape or audiotape and be responsible for its safeguarding, permit its viewing or hearing by a party or the deponent, and provide a copy of the videotape or its audio portion or of the audiotape, upon the request and at the cost of a party or the deponent.... Earp contends that because the rule expressly authorizes viewing of the deposition by the parties and the deponent, by negative implication it prohibits viewing by anyone else. We do not agree. Although the rule mandates that the custodian of the deposition tape  shall  permit its viewing by a party or the deponent, the rule adds nothing as to whom the custodian may allow to view the tape. In fact, the rule specifically requires that the custodian provide a party or the deponent with their own copy of the deposition, and imposes no limitation on the use that may be made of the copy. We therefore agree with the Court of Special Appeals that the prosecutor's use of the deposition did not violate Rule 2-416. We also find unpersuasive Earp's argument that the showing of the deposition violated Rule 4-321. That rule deals with the exclusion of witnesses from a court proceeding, and is not applicable here. As we pointed out in McCray v. State, 305 Md. 126, 134, 501 A.2d 856 (1985), the rule contemplates an order of sequestration before any sanction for a violation of the rule may be applied. No order of sequestration had been entered at the time this deposition was shown to the witnesses, and indeed it is doubtful that such an order would have been appropriate at that stage of the proceeding. Had the defendant wished to limit the showing of the deposition by court order, he could have sought a protective order pursuant to Rule 4-261(g)(5). He did not do so. Finally, we find no merit in Earp's contention that by refusing to exclude the testimony of Jacobs and Pagan, the trial judge denied him due process of law. Under the particular circumstances of this case, we find no fault with the trial judge's decision. We do not wish to be understood, however, as endorsing the action of the prosecutor in showing the deposition to the prospective witnesses. The question of just how far an attorney may go in preparing a witness for trial is a difficult one. It involves ethical considerations as well as the possibility of tainting a witness to the extent that due process and the necessity for reliable evidence may justify the exclusion of that witness's testimony. Attorneys have not only the right but also the duty to fully investigate the case and to interview persons who may be witnesses. A prudent attorney will, whenever possible, meet with the witnesses he or she intends to call. The process of preparing a witness for trial, sometimes referred to as horse-shedding the witness, [6] takes many forms, and involves matters ranging from recommended attire to a review of the facts known by the witness. Because the line that exists between perfectly acceptable witness preparation on the one hand, and impermissible influencing of the witness on the other hand, may sometimes be fine and difficult to discern, [7] attorneys are well advised to heed the sage advice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island: [I]n the interviews with and examination of witnesses, out of court, and before the trial of the case, the examiner, whoever he may be, layman or lawyer, must exercise the utmost care and caution to extract and not to inject information, and by all means to resist the temptation to influence or bias the testimony of the witnesses. State v. Papa, 32 R.I. 453, 80 A. 12, 15 (1911). It is permissible, in a pretrial meeting with a witness, to review statements, depositions, or prior testimony that a witness has given. It also may be necessary to test or refresh the recollection of the witness by reference to other facts of which the attorney has become aware during pretrial preparation, but in so doing the attorney should exercise great care to avoid suggesting to the witness what his or her testimony should be. In some instances, as in the case of an expert witness who will be asked to express an opinion based upon facts related by others, and who is not a factual witness whose testimony could be influenced by reading what others have said under oath, there is little danger in having the witness review the depositions of others. When, however, the testimony in the deposition bears directly on the facts that the reviewing witness will be asked to recount, and particularly when, as here, the testimony is known by the witness to be exactly that which will be used at trial, and is presented in its most graphic form by videotape, the potential for influencing the reviewing witness is great. When there is evidence suggesting that a witness has been improperly influenced, the trial judge must decide whether the extraordinary action of excluding that witness's testimony at trial is required. Although a number of factors must be weighed in reaching that decision, the overriding consideration ordinarily will be whether the testimony in a particular case will likely be so unreliable that exclusion is justified. C.f. Rock v. Arkansas, 483 U.S. 44, 60, 107 S.Ct. 2704, 2714, 97 L.E.2d 37 (1987) (posthypnosis testimony may be so unreliable that exclusion is justified); State v. Collins, 296 Md. 670, 702-03, 464 A.2d 1028 (1983) (posthypnosis testimony admissible only if shown to be in accord with prehypnosis statements). Quite often, as was the case here, the trial judge will determine that disclosure through cross-examination of a witness concerning the pretrial activity that created the potential for influencing the witness's testimony will allow the trier of fact to adequately assess the witness's testimony. See Geders v. United States, 425 U.S. 80, 89-91, 96 S.Ct. 1330, 1335-36, 47 L.Ed.2d 592 (1976). The loss of the testimony of an otherwise competent witness carries with it its own danger of injustice and the subversion of the ultimate search for truth. It is not an action lightly to be taken. The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, dealing with a claim that identification of the defendant by a witness was inherently unreliable because the witness had been present at a meeting of prosecution witnesses where the description of the defendant was discussed, said: The rule that the prosecution cannot bring all its witnesses together prior to trial to discuss their testimony is one to ensure the credibility of the witnesses. That the witnesses in this case did meet together, and did discuss some aspects of their testimony was a proper subject for impeachment on cross-examination and for comment during closing argument. However, the violation here is not so extreme as to render the witnesses' testimony incredible as a matter of law, nor is it so extreme as to deny the petitioner fundamental fairness in his trial. As was noted in the section immediately prior to this, questions of admissibility of evidence are determined by state law and are not reviewable in a federal habeas corpus proceeding unless there has been an error of such magnitude as to deny fundamental fairness. Although the actions of the prosecutors here were improper, the witnesses' testimony was admissible, and its admission did not deny petitioner a fair trial. United States ex rel. Clark v. Fike, 538 F.2d 750, 758 (7th Cir.1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1064, 97 S.Ct. 791, 50 L.Ed.2d 781 (1977). In the case before us, the prosecutor was sensitive to the possibility that witnesses reviewing Lawrence's deposition might be influenced by Lawrence's identification of Earp as his attacker, and the witness who was to make an in-court identification was not permitted to see that part of the deposition. The trial judge expressly found that full disclosure to the trier of fact was an effective remedy in this case. We conclude that the trial judge properly refused to exclude the testimony of Jacobs and Pagan. JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS AFFIRMED; COSTS IN THIS COURT AND IN THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS TO BE PAID ONE-HALF BY RESPONDENT AND ONE-HALF BY MONTGOMERY COUNTY.