Opinion ID: 578349
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The McKay Testimony

Text: 35 Kroll argues that the district court erred by admitting the McKay declaration and deposition. We review the admission of evidence for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Marchini, 797 F.2d 759, 762 (9th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1085, 107 S.Ct. 1288, 94 L.Ed.2d 145 (1987). 36 Under Rule 804, a witness must be unavailable to qualify for a hearsay exception. Rule 804(a)(4) declares a witness unavailable if unable to be present or to testify because of death or then existing physical or mental illness or infirmity ... Fed.R.Evid. 804(a)(4). Mutuelles informed the court of McKay's unavailability on the first day of trial, September 21st. McKay was available for examination that afternoon, but required surgery the next morning. The record establishes that McKay would be indisposed for one to two weeks. That was sufficient to support the court's conclusion that McKay was an unavailable witness. 37 Rule 804(b)(1) qualifies the deposition for admission. The Rule admits former testimony of an unavailable witness into evidence. The plain language of Rule 804(b)(1) supports the admission of the deposition. 2 38 Admission of the declaration, however, is another matter. To be admissible, the declaration must: 1) have circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness equivalent to the other four exceptions listed in Rule 804; 2) be offered as evidence of a material fact; 3) be more probative on the point for which it is offered than other evidence the proponent can obtain through reasonable efforts; 4) best serve the general purposes of the Rules and the interests of justice; and 5) be given with adequate notice to the adverse party. Rule 804(b)(5) is not to be used as a new and broad hearsay exception, but rather is to be used rarely and in exceptional circumstances. Fong v. American Airlines, 626 F.2d 759, 763 (9th Cir.1980). 39 Under an identical provision in Rule 803(24) involving available declarants, we have required detailed findings for admission. See United States v. Chu Kong Yin, 935 F.2d 990, 1000 (9th Cir.1991); Hal Roach Studios v. Richard Feiner and Co., 896 F.2d 1542, 1552 (9th Cir.1989). Specific findings fulfill two purposes: 1) they create a detailed record for review; and 2) they ensure that the district court has met all the necessary criteria before admitting evidence. 40 The district court erred by not making a specific finding that the McKay declaration was admissible under Rule 804(b)(5). Because the rationales underlying Rules 803(24) and 804(b)(5) are the same, a specific finding was required. Kroll was permitted, however, to cross-examine the declaration with a deposition. Under these exceptional circumstances, Kroll was not unfairly prejudiced by the use of the declaration, but we must determine whether the declaration: 1) met the notice requirement; and 2) had adequate guarantees of trustworthiness. 41 Adequate notice gives adverse parties an opportunity to attack the trustworthiness of the evidence. Piva v. Xerox Corp., 654 F.2d 591, 596 (9th Cir.1981). Mutuelles informed counsel for Kroll three days before the trial that McKay had an upcoming surgery. Mutuelles offered to videotape the testimony, but Kroll refused. Kroll had ample notice, but rejected every suggested alternative because, as candidly admitted, it did not want the testimony in evidence. 42 We have admitted grand jury testimony under 804(b)(5). Marchini, 797 F.2d at 762-65. The First Circuit has admitted an affidavit when other circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness were present. Furtado v. Bishop, 604 F.2d 80, 91 (1st Cir.1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1035, 100 S.Ct. 710, 62 L.Ed.2d 672 (1980). In Furtado, the affiant was an attorney with a good reputation, had no personal interest in the dispute, and had parts of his affidavit corroborated by other evidence. Id. 43 An oath alone is insufficient to guarantee the trustworthiness of the affiant. See United States v. Fernandez, 892 F.2d 976, 981 (11th Cir.1989), cert. dismissed, 495 U.S. 944, 110 S.Ct. 2201, 109 L.Ed.2d 527 (1990); United States v. Synder, 872 F.2d 1351, 1355 (7th Cir.1989). As observed in Fernandez: An oath alone, however, is an inadequate safeguard to meet the requirement of Rule 804(b)(5) that the statement have 'equivalent circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness'; otherwise, Congress could have dispensed with the cross-examination requirement codified in Rule 804(b)(1). Fernandez, 892 F.2d at 981. 44 The admission of the deposition in conjunction with the declaration provided an adequate guarantee of trustworthiness. The deposition was available for use in cross-examination of the declaration. The declaration was taken under oath. McKay is subject to a penalty of perjury. That combination constitutes sufficient indicia of trustworthiness. Its admission was not an abuse of discretion.