Opinion ID: 445460
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Subpoenas at Government Expense.

Text: 80 Shortly before trial, Buhajla moved for issuance of subpoenas at Government expense for three witnesses from Arkansas and four witnesses from Illinois. The court granted the motion in part: Buhajla was instructed to choose four of the seven witnesses listed in his motion for whom subpoenas were issued. Buhajla now argues that the district court arbitrarily limited him to four cost-free subpoenas. We note at the outset that only three of the four witnesses for whom subpoenas were authorized testified at trial; one of the witnesses for whom a subpoena was denied testified anyway. 81 Buhajla now claims that four of the witnesses he requested were character witnesses only but that the other three were also fact witnesses. We note, however, that nowhere in the record did Buhajla indicate what he intended to prove through the seven witnesses he requested. His written motion, Record Vol. II at 238, simply lists the witnesses names and addresses; apparently, no objection or offer was made in response to the court's limitation of subpoenas. 82 Rule 17(b), Fed.R.Crim.P., governs an indigent's right to have witnesses subpoened at Government expense. Of course, the issue is not entirely procedural; it implicates both the sixth amendment right to compulsory process and the fifth amendment protection against unreasonable discrimination based upon the ability to pay. See, e.g., United States v. Hegwood, 562 F.2d 946, 952 (5th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1079, 98 S.Ct. 1274, 55 L.Ed.2d 787 (1978). We have long held, however, that, within the limits imposed by the Constitution, [t]he decision to grant or deny a Rule 17(b) motion is vested in the sound discretion of the trial court. United States v. Bowman, 636 F.2d 1003, 1013 (5th Cir.1981). As a threshold matter, an indigent seeking a Rule 17(b) subpoena must allege facts that, if true, demonstrate the necessity of the requested witness' testimony. Hegwood, 562 F.2d at 952. The trial court may then exercise its discretion to deny the subpoenas if the Government demonstrates that the indigent's averments are untrue, United States v. Goodwin, 625 F.2d 693, 703 (5th Cir.1980), or if the requested testimony would be merely cumulative or irrelevant. Bowman, 636 F.2d at 1013. 83 Since Buhajla did not make a threshold showing on the record that the seven requested witnesses were necessary to an adequate defense, Fed.R.Crim.P. 17(b), we cannot say that the district court abused its discretion by forcing him to choose four of them. We note that even if Buhajla had made a record showing below of what he has told us on brief, we would nonetheless uphold the district court's decision. Buhajla claims that the four Illinois witnesses were exclusively character witnesses. He intended for the three Arkansas witnesses, however, to testify about his character and also about facts relevant to his defense: they could testify that Buhajla made no attempt to conceal the fact that the King Air was stored on his property. Even with the court's limitation, then, Buhajla could have subpoenaed at Government expense a total of four character witnesses while at the same time compelling attendance of the only three fact witnesses he sought. Given a district court's wide latitude in limiting cumulative character evidence, e.g., United States v. Edwards, 702 F.2d 529, 530 (5th Cir.1983), we could hardly find an abuse of discretion here. 84