Opinion ID: 546337
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Testimony of the Assistant United States Attorney

Text: 17 The appellant next argues that his due process rights were violated because an assistant United States Attorney, Bruce Carter, was permitted to testify as part of the government's case-in-chief. The appellant claims that permitting Carter to testify violated the advocate-witness rule and deprived him of a fair trial because Carter participated in the investigation and preparation of the case. A court's control over the manner of questioning at trial is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Taylor, 716 F.2d 701, 710 (9th Cir.1983). 18 In conducting the cross-examination of Gerald Silverman, counsel for the appellant suggested that Silverman was encouraged by Carter to create facts favorable to the prosecution, and that Carter had received favorable publicity from the investigation that would enhance his political ambitions. Defense counsel suggested that Silverman's cooperation in the investigation was the result of the government's promise to recommend lenient sentencing. Carter was thereafter called by the prosecutor to rebut these suggestions. 19 Carter testified that no promises or bargains were made with Silverman regarding leniency in the WPPSS matter, and that there were no political motivations behind the decision to prosecute the case. Carter made the following statement: I told Mr. Egan that [immunity for Silverman] was unacceptable to us; that we had serious allegations of--relating to Mr. Silverman, and expected to pursue those; and we thought in all likelihood he would receive a sentence of imprisonment for the conduct we had uncovered. 20 Carter's statements were admissible. The statements regarding Carter's political motivation for bringing the case were relevant to the implied charges made against the government. Further, Carter's statements regarding what he said to Mr. Silverman's attorney about immunity were also admissible, non-hearsay statements. The testimony was offered to establish that Mr. Silverman knew he would not be given immunity by the government and, therefore, had no motive to lie to gain points with the prosecutor. The statement was not offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted and, thus, it was not hearsay. Fed.R.Evid. 801(c). 21 Further, the admission of Carter's testimony did not violate the rule of United States v. McKoy, 771 F.2d 1207 (9th Cir.1985). In McKoy, the defendant was on trial for conspiracy to transport stolen goods. His defense was that he had been out of the state when the crime occurred and knew nothing about a load of stolen goods. Id. at 1209. After defense counsel questioned a co-defendant who was testifying as a government witness regarding his plea agreement, the government called a former prosecutor, who had originally been responsible for the defendant's prosecution, to elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the negotiations. 22 In response to a question about the negotiations, the former prosecutor said that he felt [that] the case was an extremely strong case against all defendants. Id. at 1210 n. 1. McKoy was convicted, and on appeal the conviction was reversed because the statement that the government had an extremely strong case against [McKoy] violated the rule that a prosecutor may not express a personal opinion of the defendant's guilt or his belief in the credibility of a witness. Id. at 1210-11. 23 Carter did not implicate Kenney in his testimony regarding Silverman. Rather, Carter spoke of Silverman's guilt, which was not a contested matter as the jury was aware. Carter's testimony did not express a personal opinion of Kenney's guilt. Therefore, it was admissible under McKoy. 24 Further, although Carter participated in the investigation and preparation of the case, the jury was aware of his association with the prosecutor and it was twice instructed that it could consider his bias in crediting his testimony. The mere fact that a witness holds an office of public trust should [not] disqualify him as a witness.... United States v. Cerone, 452 F.2d 274, 288 (7th Cir.1971), cert. denied, 405 U.S. 964, 92 S.Ct. 1168, 31 L.Ed.2d 240 (1972). Similarly, the mere fact that Carter was associated with the prosecution did not disqualify him as a witness when his testimony became necessary to rebut implied charges of improper influence on a prosecution witness. 25 Carter's other testimony regarding Silverman's assistance did not constitute vouching for Silverman's credibility. During Silverman's testimony, Kenney's counsel sought to establish the political motivation of the United States Attorney's Office in prosecuting this case. Assistant United States Attorney Carter's replies to this line of questioning were not statements about his belief in the strength of the case; rather, his answers simply showed that the prosecution of this case was a routine matter that was not politically motivated. 26 Because Carter did not implicate Kenney as the prosecutor in McKoy did, or vouch for Silverman's credibility, his statement was properly admitted to rehabilitate Silverman's testimony. We conclude that the testimony of Carter did not deprive the appellant of a fair trial, and the trial court's decision to permit him to testify as a witness was not an abuse of discretion.