Opinion ID: 299374
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: access to witness neal

Text: 25 At the pretrial hearings, the attorney for Tocco noted that Willie Neal had entered a plea of guilty to robbing the bank in question and asked the court for permission to interview him prior to trial to determine whether he had evidence favorable to Tocco. The trial judge stated that he had no idea whether they are going to use him in the trial or not, and in the event they do, I will see that he is made available to you. He twice made similar assurances later in the hearing. 26 Neal was the principal witness against all of the defendants, but the assurances of the trial judge that he would be made available to the attorney for Tocco and the other defendants were not fulfilled for various reasons. Neal sent word he did not want to talk to the defendants' attorneys unless his own attorney was present. His own attorney was inaccessible at most times, and the Government attorney, after talking to Neal at the direction of the trial judge, advised the judge that Neal did not want to talk to the attorneys without his attorney present. 27 After Neal testified before the jury and while confined in the marshal's office in a cell adjacent to defendants Richmond, Smith and Long, he advised Smith he would change his story to say Smith was not involved. There is a dispute as to whether or not he also so advised the attorney for Smith. However, he was then returned to the court and while he admitted telling Smith he would change his story, he said he did so only to get away from Smith and the other defendants, and that his original testimony was correct. Neal was cross-examined extensively at both of his appearances at the trial, both in and outside the presence of the jury. 28 Witnesses to a crime are not the property of the prosecution or the defense and both sides have an equal right and should have an equal opportunity to interview them. Callahan v. United States, 371 F.2d 658, 660 (9th Cir. 1967); Gregory v. United States, 125 U.S.App.D.C. 140, 369 F.2d 185, 188 (1966). 29 However, it is equally true that a witness is not required by law to talk to either the prosecution or the defense attorneys prior to trial except under subpoena. Here Neal obviously (from his testimony) was afraid and did not want to talk to the attorneys for the four defendants, and especially did not want to talk to them outside the presence of his own lawyer. There is no evidence that his reluctance to talk to the defendants' attorneys resulted from any interference by the Government or its attorneys. 30 We conclude that it would have been better procedure if the trial court had permitted the attorneys for the defense to hear directly from the witness Neal whether he would be willing to talk to the defense attorneys, either alone or in the presence of his attorney. We agree with the trial court that the witness had no obligation to talk to the defense attorneys at all. We further agree that the witness could condition his agreement to talk to the defense attorneys upon the understanding that his attorney would be present during such discussions. However, ultimately and finally, the decision must be that of the witness and not of his attorney. 31 From an examination of the entire record, we are, however, convinced that any error of the trial court here in failing to make Mr. Neal available was harmless error, especially in view of the extensive cross-examination by Neal by the attorneys for the defense, both in the presence and outside the presence of the jury.