Opinion ID: 611982
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Refusal to Reread Testimony

Text: 23 A district court's decision to deny a jury's request to rehear trial testimony during deliberations is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Nickell, 883 F.2d 824, 829 (9th Cir.1989). 24 Esparza argues that the district court abused its discretion by refusing to reread Esparza's testimony during jury deliberations. Specifically, Esparza argues that because the requested testimony was brief--a half hour long testimony which was transcribed in 30 pages--the district court should have reread the testimony to the jury. We disagree. 25 The district court has great latitude in deciding whether to reread testimony requested by the jury. United States v. Cuozzo, 962 F.2d 945, 952 (9th Cir.) (quotation omitted), cert. denied, 113 S.Ct. 475 (1992). Here, the district court informed the jury at the beginning of trial that they would not have a written transcript of testimony, and therefore urged the jury to pay close attention to the testimony as the trial progresses. The trial lasted less than one day, Esparza's testimony was at most half an hour, and only five witnesses testified at trial. 26 Under these circumstances, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the jury's request to rehear Esparza's testimony during deliberations. 27 AFFIRMED.