Opinion ID: 451965
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Challenges To Deposing Steneman

Text: 20 The district court authorized the taking of Steneman's deposition under both Fed.R.Crim.P. 15 and section 3503. Sines maintains that the United States failed to make an adequate showing under the terms of either provision that Steneman would be unavailable for trial prior to the granting of its motion to depose Steneman in Thailand. Sines contends that because the government failed to explore all possible avenues to obtain Steneman for trial, the district court should never have authorized the taking of Steneman's deposition under Rule 15 or section 3503. 21 Sines's argument confuses the prerequisites for taking a deposition under Rule 15 and section 3503 with the prerequisites for admitting a deposition into evidence under those provisions. The two provisions do not require any conclusive showing of unavailability before a deposition can be taken in a criminal case. They only require that the trial court find that due to exceptional circumstances ... it is in the interest of justice that the testimony of a prospective witness ... be taken and preserved for possible use at trial. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3503(a); Fed.R.Crim.P. 15(a). If the party taking the deposition seeks to introduce it as evidence at trial, he will have to demonstrate at that time that the deponent is unavailable. It would be unreasonable and undesirable to require the government to assert with certainty that a witness will be unavailable for trial months ahead of time, simply to obtain authorization to take his deposition. See H.Rep. No. 1549, 91st Cong., 2d Sess. (1970), reprinted in 1970 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 4026 (The standards governing the taking of a deposition [under section 3503] are not the same as the standards for using such deposition at trial.); H.Rep. No. 247, 94th Cong., 1st Sess. (1974), U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 1975, 674 (under Rule 15, [a] deposition, once it is taken, is not automatically admissible at trial .... It may only be used at trial if the witness is [then] unavailable....). 22 In the present case, it was clear by the time the United States moved to take Steneman's deposition that he would likely be incarcerated in Thailand for a significant number of years and would not be permitted to leave that country to testify against Sines. The district court confirmed this fact in its August 18, 1983 hearing, six days before Steneman's deposition occurred. Therefore, it was not an abuse of discretion for the district court to conclude that Steneman's situation amounted to exceptional circumstances, and that it would be in the interest of justice for the government to be permitted to take his deposition so that it would be in a position to utilize his testimony at trial, if necessary. See Furlow v. United States, 644 F.2d 764, 767 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 871, 102 S.Ct. 340, 70 L.Ed.2d 175 (1981); United States v. Richardson, 588 F.2d 1235, 1241 (9th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 947, 99 S.Ct. 1426, 59 L.Ed.2d 636 (1979); United States v. Nichols, 534 F.2d 202, 204 (9th Cir.1976). 23 Sines also contends that Steneman's deposition could not have been authorized under section 3503, because the United States failed to submit any certification to the district court that Sines was believed to have participated in an organized criminal activity, as is required under section 3503(a). The United States responds that such certification can take many forms, and that it has satisfied the requirement through the specific charges that it included in Sines's indictment. See United States v. Singleton, 460 F.2d 1148, 1153 (2d Cir.1972), cert. denied, 410 U.S. 984, 93 S.Ct. 1506, 36 L.Ed.2d 180 (1973). We need not decide this issue in light of our ruling that the taking of Steneman's deposition was authorized under Rule 15. See United States v. Tunnell, 667 F.2d 1182, 1187 (5th Cir.1982). 24