Opinion ID: 763105
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Propensity to Testify

Text: 28 The District Court concluded that Pelullo's prior course of conduct established a long history of voluntarily waiving his fifth amendment privilege. See United States v. Pelullo, 6 F.Supp.2d 403, 414 (E.D.Pa.1998). The Court referred to a number of instances in which Pelullo had testified under oath or had voluntarily given interviews to the FBI about the subject matter of various indictments, including this one. While we are hesitant to conclude that someone has a propensity to testify, the District Court draws a number of valid inferences. From the situations in which Pelullo had waived his Fifth Amendment privilege, including an example where Pelullo testified and was acquitted, the Court inferred that Mr. Pelullo believed he could persuade the jury that he was telling the truth. See id. The District Court also hypothesized that after testifying in his own defense in the first two trials and being convicted both times, Pelullo may have decided to change tactics in the third trial. See id. Pelullo tries to refute this conclusion by arguing that his behavior in the third and fourth trials (i.e., his decision not to testify there) shows that he does not have a propensity to testify. However, this is an area in which we will defer to the District Court, which has observed Pelullo's demeanor and conduct over the course of seven years.