Opinion ID: 2286678
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Objections to Rulings of the Court

Text: The appellants contend that three of Darling's exhibits were improperly admitted in the trial below over timely objection. These exhibits were drawings obtained by the Montgomery County police as a result of the search and seizure to which reference has been made. The court below granted the appellants' motion to exclude the drawings as to Wilkinson but denied the motion as to the other appellants. We do not find it necessary to decide whether or not these exhibits were improperly admitted for, even if they were, any error in connection with their admission was not prejudicial. We have found that the drawings were not part of Darling's trade secret but they were Darling's property and several of the former employees admitted on the stand that the drawings had been taken before the employees had terminated their employment. The impropriety of the taking of the drawings was admitted by the appellants' counsel. Apart from the drawings themselves, the circumstances under which they were taken was admissible evidence which tended to show that the former employees meant to breach their confidential relationship and duty of loyalty in improperly using Darling's trade secret to compete with it. The court below found that the drawings were of use to the defendants in setting up their competitive business, but there was ample testimony other than the actual drawings which supported this finding. The introduction of the drawings themselves was only cumulative and unessential. The appellants also contend that the lower court committed prejudicial error in refusing to have several of their expert witnesses present during the taking of testimony in camera unless they took an oath of secrecy as to all the matters testified to. Darling, at all times, claimed that its manufacturing process was a trade secret. The court stated that by the very nature of the case secrecy is an essential factor. Maryland Rule 546 provides that the court may on its own motion exclude witnesses other than parties from the courtroom until called upon to testify, but excludes from the operation of the Rule an expert witness who is to render an opinion based on the testimony given at the trial. This Rule, however, is not a contravention of the general principle that in taking testimony on matters in which, by the nature of the case, such as the one here involved, secrecy is an essential factor, the trial court has discretion to permit expert witnesses to remain in the courtroom only under reasonable conditions imposed to maintain secrecy. Annot., supra, 62 A.L.R.2d 509, at pages 513-525 and 527-529 and cases therein cited. At the trial, the court suggested that the expert witnesses take an oath of secrecy similar to the oath of secrecy the Grand Jury takes. One of the appellants' witnesses, Shreeve, took the oath and remained during the in camera proceedings. Other expert witnesses of the appellants, because of their positions, refused to take the oath. As to these witnesses, the appellants proceeded by asking them what they had seen at the Space Aero plant and whether those methods were generally known. It is true that, from the appellants' point of view, it would have been preferable if they could have had all of their experts present during the in camera proceedings; their witness, Shreeve, who took the oath of secrecy, was so present. The other witnesses, however, testified from their examination of the processes and methods used at the Space Aero plant that these methods and processes were virtually the same as those used by Darling. The fact that the appellants' expert witnesses, other than Shreeve, because of their employment, felt they could not take the oath of secrecy, is understandable but of itself did not give the appellants the right to have those witnesses present during the in camera proceedings without taking the oath. The trial court was of the opinion that to permit these witnesses to attend the in camera proceedings without taking the oath might seriously prejudice Darling's rights. For the same reason, the court refused to permit the appellants' counsel to review the in camera testimony with the experts who had been excluded. Under all the circumstances, we can not find that these rulings constituted an abuse of discretion.