Court Opinion

ID: 9482188
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 08:42:53.558982+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:48:49.357941
License: Public Domain

JOHN R. GIBSON, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I concur in the court’s opinion today but write separately to express my views on the conflicting cases spawned by this circuit as to whether Missouri or federal law governs closing arguments in diversity cases. I believe that Illinois Central Railroad Co. v. Staples, 272 F.2d 829 (8th Cir.1959), and the decisions following it, Duncan v. St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Co., 480 F.2d 79 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 859, 94 S.Ct. 69, 38 L.Ed.2d 109 (1973), and Vanskike v. ACF Indus., Inc., 665 F.2d 188 (8th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 1000, 102 S.Ct. 1632, 71 L.Ed.2d 867 (1982), correctly state that closing arguments are a matter of procedure, and the propriety of a closing argument is determined by federal rather than state law. Johnson v. Richardson, 701 F.2d 753 (8th Cir.1983), did not cite these earlier three cases, presumably because they were not raised in the brief. Id. at 757. Likewise, Campbell v. Coleman Co., Inc., 786 F.2d 892 (8th Cir.1986), simply cited Johnson in holding that Missouri law should govern closing arguments in diversity cases. Id. at 897. Although I concurred in Campbell, I believe that Johnson and Campbell did not recognize or discuss their evident conflict with these three earlier cases, and failed to follow controlling rules of stare decisis. I believe as a panel we may recognize that the three earlier decisions, Illinois Central, Duncan and Van-skike, properly control, as they should have controlled Johnson and Campbell.
I think it is also evident that closing argument and the control of it are inherently procedural issues such that federal laws should apply in diversity cases. We have clearly stated this to be the rule with respect to jury instructions in diversity cases. Chohlis v. Cessna Aircraft Co., 760 F.2d 901, 904-05 (8th Cir.1985). We admittedly deal with difficult issues when we have conflicting lines of decisions in our panel opinions, and these issues must ordinarily be resolved by the court en banc. We should not hesitate to resolve this issue on the first occasion that presents itself, and we should then make clear that federal law governs the propriety of closing arguments of counsel in diversity cases.
Having said as much, I have little hesitation in determining that federal law allows counsel more leeway in commenting on the nonproduction of a witness than that allowed under Missouri law. The three cases I have pointed to contain our rules on nonproduction of witnesses, as well as the control of closing arguments generally. First, although Illinois Central, specifically deals with a comment on a party’s failure to call employees as witnesses, and states that when witnesses are equally available to both parties, no adverse inferences may be drawn from the failure of one party to call them, the case goes on to describe a somewhat broader rule than that which exists in Missouri. Illinois Central, after quoting a text containing essentially the same rule, states: “Where there has been a failure to call available witnesses who may have knowledge of material facts, such failure may properly be referred to in argument of counsel.” 272 F.2d at 834. I recognize that this rule is subject to limita*1384tions and qualifications which, when the occasion demands, should be explored further.4
Applying these principles, Price, the preacher, was a witness equally available to both parties. It is true that he and Geimer had seen each other at the fishing lake many times. Although no employment relationship existed, Price was at the scene of the accident and helped Geimer after he fell. Thus, Price qualifies as a witness who “may have knowledge of material facts.” Illinois Central, 272 F.2d at 834. Indeed, Price was the only person besides Geimer who was at the scene immediately after the fall giving him at least a peculiar and special opportunity to have knowledge of the scene. Illinois Central states that a party’s failure to call a witness having “knowledge of material facts” is the proper subject of argument. Id.
Griffin, looked to statements made in a closing argument in the “context of the entire mosaic” of the argument. 804 F.2d at 1058. Duncan, also states that under federal law “counsel has great latitude in arguments to the jury, and considerable discretion is given to the trial court to control these arguments,” 480 F.2d at 84-85. Thus, I need not ponder whether Illinois Central’s, statement of the rule might be overbroad, as a portion of the closing argument to which Geimer objects was specifically aimed at his discussion of the court’s instruction which Geimer requested. Looking at the argument as a whole and considering the principles enunciated in Illinois Central, Duncan, and Griffin, I cannot conclude that the district court abused its discretion in overruling the objections to the argument, even though the argument might be considered error under Missouri law.
Certainly, as the court’s opinion points out today, if there was any error in the argument, it was harmless.

. We have held that failure to produce a contract in the possession of one party may raise an adverse inference. Mid-Continent Petroleum Corp. v. Keen, 157 F.2d 310, 315 (8th Cir.1946). At least one circuit has held that the failure to produce evidence equally available to both parties raises an adverse inference that may be argued by both parties. United States v. Erb, 543 F.2d 438, 444-45 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 981, 97 S.Ct. 493, 50 L.Ed.2d 590 (1976). The issue is discussed generally with abundant citation of federal authority in some of the texts. See McCormick on Evidence, § 272 (3d Ed. 1984), which also states that either party should be permitted to argue the inference. McCormick states that rather than “spinning a web of rules,” the wiser remedy is to allow an answering argument, and that the judge should intervene only when the argument is unfair and prejudicial. Id. This seems to comport with the federal cases in this and other circuits. See also 31A CJ.S. Evidence § 156(3) (1964) (inference warranted where witness possesses peculiar or special knowledge concerning a party's case) and 2 Wigmore, Evidence §§ 285-86 (1979).