Opinion ID: 442990
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Violation of the Sequestration Order

Text: 39 The district court concluded that it had both the power and the duty to quash the summonses as a sanction for Agent McCann's violation of the court's sequestration order. Fed.R.Evid. 615 deals specifically with the sequestration of witnesses, and is applicable to IRS summons proceedings. 5 See Fed.R.Evid. 1101(b). Rule 615 does not explicitly address the question of sanctions for non-compliance. The case law, however, suggests three appropriate forms of sanctions: (1) holding the witness in contempt, Holder v. United States, 150 U.S. 91, 14 S.Ct. 10, 37 L.Ed. 1010 (1893), United States v. Eastwood, 489 F.2d 818 (5th Cir.1973); (2) comment by the court on the violation and its effect on weight or credibility of the witness' testimony, Holder, supra; and (3) barring or striking the witness' testimony, United States v. Gibson, 675 F.2d 825 (6th Cir.1982). See generally, 3 Weinstein & Berger, Weinstein's Evidence p 615(03) (1982). 40 We also assume that Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(b), 6 which allows the court to dismiss claims for violation of any court order, 7 might support a dismissal in a most egregious situation. 8 41 But the law of this circuit is that Rule 41(b) dismissal should be reserved for cases where there is a clear record of delay or contumacious conduct by the plaintiff. Furthermore, it is necessary for the district court to consider whether lesser sanctions would better serve the ends of justice. See Titus v. Mercedes Benz of North America, 695 F.2d 746, 749 (3d Cir.1982). 42 In this case, the district court did not consider any of the sanctions appropriate under Rule 615, or make the findings required under the Rule, but instead precipitously decided the case against the government. Moreover, there is no evidence that Agent McCann was acting other than unilaterally when he violated the sequestration order. Nor did Pickel establish any prejudice to his case as a result of the violation of the sequestration order. 9 In view of these considerations, we conclude that the district court abused its discretion when it imposed the drastic sanction of quashing the IRS summonses.