Opinion ID: 2995200
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: (B), if it meets the following four

Text: requirements: 1) the declarant testifies at trial and is subject to cross-examination; 2) the prior statement is consistent with the declarant’s trial testimony; 3) the statement is offered to rebut an express or implied charge of recent fabrication or improper motive; and, 4) the statement was made before the declarant had a motive to fabricate. United States v. Stoecker, 215 F.3d 788, 791 (7th Cir. 2000) (quoting United States v. Fulford, 980 F.2d 1110, 1114 (7th Cir. 1992))./2 Putting aside the first requirement for a moment, we conclude that the district court was within its discretion in determining that Guzman’s statements to Huttle were admissible under Rule 801(d)(1). The statements were consistent with Guzman’s trial testimony, and were offered to rebut Green’s counsel’s attempt in cross-examination to show that, because of his plea agreement, Guzman had a motive to fabricate. See Stoecker, 215 F.3d at 790. Green argues on appeal that the fourth requirement of Rule 801(d) (1)(B) was not met because Guzman’s statement to Huttle was made after he was arrested, and therefore Guzman had a motive to fabricate at the time the prior statement was made. Because this argument was not raised until his reply brief, it is waived. Wright v. United States, 139 F.3d 551, 553 (7th Cir. 1998); United States v. Feinberg, 89 F.3d 333, 340-41 (7th Cir. 1996)./3 Returning to the requirement that the declarant be available for cross- examination, Green contends that it was error to admit Guzman’s prior statement after the conclusion of Green’s cross- examination of Guzman and during the tes timony of Lieutenant Huttle. In United States v. West, 670 F.2d 675, 687 (7th Cir. 1982), we interpreted Rule 801(d) (1)(B)’s requirement of cross-examination to mean that the out-of-court statement must be elicited through the declarant, and not through a third party to whom the declaration was made. The government asks us to reconsider West, observing that no other circuit requires that prior consis tent statements be admitted through the declarant. At the time West was decided, we acknowledged that our interpretation of Rule 801(d)(1)(B) differed from the interpretation of six other circuits that permit a third party to testify about another witness’s prior consistent statement, so long as the witness who made the out-of-court statement is available for cross-examination at some time during the trial. Id. at 686 (citing United States v. Provenzano, 620 F.2d 985, 1000-02 (3d Cir. 1980); United States v. Dominguez, 604 F.2d 304, 311 (4th Cir. 1979); United States v. Allen, 579 F.2d 531, 532 (9th Cir. 1978); United States v. Lanier, 578 F.2d 1246, 1255-56 (8th Cir. 1978); United States v. Zuniga-Lara, 570 F.2d 1286, 1287 (5th Cir. 1978); United States v. McGrath, 558 F.2d 1102, 1107 (2d Cir. 1977)). In the nineteen years since West was decided, our interpretation has not garnered support. None of the remaining circuits has followed West, leaving us a minority of one. United States v. Montague, 958 F.2d 1094, 1099 (D.C. Cir. 1992); see United States v. Hebeka, 25 F.3d 287, 291 (6th Cir. 1994); United States v. Piva, 870 F.2d 753, 758 (1st Cir. 1989); United States v. Griggs, 735 F.2d 1318, 1325-26 (11th Cir. 1984); United States v. Sutton, 732 F.2d 1483, 1493-94 (10th Cir. 1984); see also 30B Michael H. Graham, Federal Practice and Procedure, sec.7012 at 135 (2000) (Where admissible, the prior consistent statement may be testified to by either the witness himself or any other person with personal knowledge of the statement.). The justification we provided in West was that Rule 801(d)(1)(B) requires not only that the declarant generally be available for cross-examination, but that he be available for cross-examination about the statement. West, 670 F.2d at 686 (citing United States v. Guevara, 598 F.2d 1094, 1100 (7th Cir. 1979); United States v. Fearns, 501 F.2d 486, 489 (7th Cir. 1974)). But, as other courts have observed, this justification does not compel the limitation we imposed in West. See Montague, 958 F.2d at 1099; Hebeka, 25 F.3d at 292. Cross-examination about the statement can be accomplished whether or not the statement is introduced by the declarant; if the statement is elicited from a third party, the declarant may be recalled for further examination. Id. West thus goes beyond its justification and imposes a precondition for admissibility relating to the order and manner that evidence is presented, a precondition not contained in Rule 801(d)(1)(B). And although this limitation avoids having to recall the declarant and therefore may serve some benefit in terms of trial management, we think this consideration is better left to the discretion of the trial court. See Fed. R. Evid. 611(a). That the requirement articulated in West is not contained in nor apparent from the Rule itself may explain why West has not been mentioned in later decisions of this court approving the admission of prior consistent statements that were elicited not from the declarant but from the person to whom the statement was made. See United States v. Ruiz, 249 F.3d 643, 647-48 (7th Cir. 2001); Fulford, 980 F.2d at 1113-14; United States v. Monzon, 869 F.2d 338, 342-43 (7th Cir. 1989); United States v. Harris, 761 F.2d 394, 399 (7th Cir. 1985); cf. Christmas v. Sanders, 759 F.2d 1284, 1288-89 (7th Cir. 1985) (affirming, on other grounds and without reference to West, district court’s rejection of prior consistent statement offered through a third party). These later decisions suggest to us that the limitation articulated in West is not well known and, lacking good justification, serves unnecessarily to trap the unwary. We therefore believe that it is time to join our sister circuits and hold that Rule 801(d)(1)(B) does not bar the introduction of a prior consistent statement through the testimony of someone other than the declarant, so long as the declarant is available for cross- examination about the statement at some time during trial./4 There is no indication that Green was prevented from recalling Guzman for cross-examination about the assertions attributed to Guzman in Huttle’s report, and because those assertions meet the other requirements for admission under Rule 801(d)(1)(B), the district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing Huttle’s report to be read to the jury.