Opinion ID: 1263890
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Exclusion of Olofson's Firearms Expert from the Courtroom

Text: The defendant also argues that the district court improperly granted the government's request to exclude his firearms expert (Len Savage) from the courtroom during the testimony of the government's firearms expert. Olofson contends that the presence of his expert during the testimony of the government's expert was essential to the presentation of his case. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 615, [a]t the request of a party the court shall order witnesses excluded so that they cannot hear the testimony of other witnesses, and it may make the order of its own motion. That rule does not authorize the exclusion of four categories of persons, including a person whose presence is shown by a party to be essential to the presentation of the party's cause. FED.R.EVID. 615(3). As the party asserting a Rule 615(3) exception, Olofson bore the burden for showing that the exception applied. Opus 3, Ltd. v. Heritage Park, Inc., 91 F.3d 625, 628 (4th Cir.1996); United States v. Jackson, 60 F.3d 128, 135 (2d Cir.1995). We review for an abuse of discretion a district court's decision about the essentiality of a witness's presence under Rule 615(3). Milicevic v. Fletcher Jones Imports, Ltd., 402 F.3d 912, 916 (9th Cir.2005); Opus 3, 91 F.3d at 629; Jackson, 60 F.3d at 135-36. At trial, Olofson presented two reasons for opposing the government's request to exclude Savage from the courtroom. First, he argued that because Federal Rule of Evidence 703 permits an expert to base his opinion upon facts or data made known to him at trial, Savage should be allowed to be present to hear the government expert's testimony. However, merely because Rule 703 contemplates that an expert may render an opinion based on facts or data made known at trial does not necessarily mean that an expert witness is exempt from a Rule 615 sequestration order. The text of Rule 615 plainly does not provide for such a per se exception; rather, Rule 615(3) confers discretion upon district courts to determine whether a given witness (of whatever stripe) is essential. We agree with the courts of appeals that have addressed the issue that Rule 703 is not an automatic exemption for expert witnesses from Rule 615 sequestration. Miller v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 650 F.2d 1365, 1374 (5th Cir.1981); Morvant v. Constr. Aggregates Corp., 570 F.2d 626, 630 (6th Cir.1978); see Opus 3, 91 F.3d at 629. Therefore, the mere mention of Rule 703 by Olofson was insufficient to show that a Rule 615(3) exception was warranted. Second, Olofson stated that he would like to have Mr. Savage present to hear the government expert's testimony on malfunctions so that he could rebut or add information if such testimony was incomplete or incorrect. While no precise incantation is required, we doubt whether those statements advanced the argument that Savage's presence was essential under Rule 615(3). Olofson did not tell the district court (as he tells us on appeal) that Savage's presence was of critical import to his highly-technical defense that the AR-15 malfunctioned. Even assuming that he did make the argument, Olofson did not carry his burden of demonstrating essentiality. The defendant stated that Savage should be allowed to hear the government expert's testimony so that Savage could rebut or add information to any inaccurate testimony about malfunctions, but Olofson did not tell the district court why Savage's presence was necessary to achieve that end. Indeed, much of the data and malfunction information relied upon by the government's expert was already known to Savage due to the pre-trial disclosure of the government expert's reports, and Savage had the opportunity to respond to such materials during the defendant's case. Regarding any information which was not included in the reports but may have come into evidence during the testimony of the government's expert, Olofson had ample opportunity on direct examination for Savage to rebut, add to, or opine on the implications of such information by asking him to assume its existence. Although it might have been helpful or desirable for Savage to hear the government expert's testimony, Olofson did not show that Savage's presence was essential to the presentation of his case. Therefore, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Savage a sequestration exemption under Rule 615(3).