Court Opinion

ID: 9465118
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 00:36:19.405754+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:38:59.048811
License: Public Domain

MANSFIELD, Circuit Judge
(dissenting):
I dissent because appellant has failed to show that Knowles’ testimony would have been relevant, material, and favorable to appellant. There was, therefore, no denial of appellant’s Sixth Amendment right to compulsory process, and no abuse of discretion on the part of the state court trial judge in not granting a fourth continuance for the purpose of locating Knowles and compelling his attendance as a witness.1
The Sixth Amendment entitles an accused “to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor.” U.S.Const. Amend. VI (emphasis supplied). The Supreme Court described the right to compulsory process in Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14, 23, 87 S.Ct. 1920, 1925, 18 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1967), as the right to testimony that would be “relevant and material to the defense.”
Therefore, in determining whether to delay a trial because of a witness’ absence, the trial judge must consider not only the defendant’s diligence in attempting to secure the presence of the missing witness, and the likelihood that the witness would be produced if a continuance were granted, but also, of equal importance, the question of whether the witness’ testimony would be relevant, *628material, and favorable to the defense. The Constitution does not guarantee an accused the right to introduce irrelevant or immaterial evidence; nor does it entitle a defendant to compel the production of witnesses against him. See United States v. Taylor, 562 F.2d 1345, 1362 (2d Cir. 1977); United States v. Haldeman, 181 U.S.App.D.C. 254, 307, 559 F.2d 31, 84 (1976); Dearinger v. United States, 468 F.2d 1032, 1034-35 (9th Cir. 1972). See generally, Westen, Compulsory Process II, 74 Mich.L.Rev. 191 (1975).2
As Judge Oakes of this court stated in United States v. Taylor, supra, at 1362:
“While ordinarily it would be of the greatest moment if a defendant were denied his right to compel the attendance of witnesses in his defense, see Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 818, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975); Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14, 18-19, 87 S.Ct. 1920, 18 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1967), particularly when the defendant seeks a witness in Government custody, here there was no showing either at the time of the request or subsequently as to what favorable evidence Garner would have provided if he had been called to testify and had waived his Fifth Amendment privilege. It is not improper to deny a request for a subpoena where the testimony of the witness would be only cumulative, United States v. Rosa, 493 F.2d 1191, 1194 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 850, 95 S.Ct. 89, 42 L.Ed.2d 80 (1974), where the defendant is vague as to the witness’s potential evidence and is also aware that the witness might invoke the Fifth Amendment, United States v. Wyler, 487 F.2d 170, 173-74 (2d Cir. 1973), or where the witness would only give irrelevant testimony not necessary to an adequate defense, United States v. Romano, 482 F.2d 1183, 1195 (5th Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1129, 94 S.Ct. 866, 38 L.Ed.2d 753 (1974). See also United States v. Sellers, 520 F.2d 1281, 1285-86 (4th Cir. 1975), vacated on other grounds, 424 U.S. 961, 96 S.Ct. 1453, 47 L.Ed.2d 728 (1976). Cf. Fed.R.Evid. 403 (relevant evidence may be excluded because of ‘considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence’). Since there was never any showing of what Gamer’s testimony would be, it was proper to deny the continuance.”
The showing of relevance, materiality, and favorability that must be made will, of course, vary according to the circumstances confronted by a defendant seeking the evidence. If the witness has not been available for, or amenable to, an interview by the defendant or his counsel, then the witness’ unavailability or uncooperativeness may excuse a defendant’s failure to make a specific offer of proof concerning the witness’ anticipated testimony. Even in such a case, however, a defendant must still be able to point to independent facts, as distinguished from speculation or conjecture, indicating that if subpoenaed the witness would be forced to give relevant and favorable testimony of material significance to the defense.
Such a showing should suffice to warrant a continuance. But if the defense, despite ample opportunity, has failed to exercise due diligence in attempting to obtain from the witness a statement (oral or written) of the substance of his anticipated testimony, and, in addition, the court is asked to speculate as to whether the witness will possibly give relevant and material testimony favorable to the defendant, a continuance is not mandated by the Constitution. United States v. Taylor, supra, 562 F.2d at 1362; United States v. Haldeman, supra, 559 F.2d at 84; Dearinger v. United States, supra, 468 F.2d at 1034-35.
Moreover, when a defendant, years after his conviction, seeks habeas relief based on a trial judge’s alleged abuse of discretion in not granting a continuance, the petitioner should at the very least be obligated to *629furnish an affidavit setting forth his efforts during the interim to obtain a statement from the missing witness and, if an oral or written statement was obtained, the substance of what the missing witness would have testified to if a continuance had been granted and he had been forced to testify. This should be a basic condition precedent to habeas relief when the allegation is a violation of the defendant’s right of compulsory process.
Applying these principles here, on October 10,1972, Knowles, whom appellant later proposed to call as a witness, pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a dangerous drug in the sixth degree, a Class A misdemeanor, N.Y.Penal Law § 220.05, and on October 25, 1972, was sentenced to time already served. On February 23, 1973, appellant, who had absconded after he had been indicted on January 6,1972, was arrested pursuant to a bench warrant and was brought to trial on August 22, 1973. Thus appellant’s trial took place approximately 10 months after Knowles had, upon his guilty plea, made the statement now pointed to by appellant as the basis for calling him as a witness.
During this 10-month period Knowles, having completed his sentence, was at large. Moreover, his whereabouts were apparently known to appellant and he was available to appellant or his counsel during the 6-month period between appellant’s arrest (Feb. 23) and his trial (Aug. 22). Indeed, appellant’s wife and brother went to see Knowles at his home during the trial and received his assurance that he would appear and testify. The police had no difficulty locating him at his home on August 28 and taking him into custody.
We have no indication in the record that appellant or his counsel ever attempted to interview Knowles, much less that Knowles ever refused to talk with appellant’s counsel, during this long period of apparent availability. Yet appellant, although his wife and brother “stressed the importance of his [Knowles’] testimony” when they visited him, has consistently failed to give the substance of what Knowles would testify to other than to point to a portion of his allocution statement of October 10, 1972, when he pleaded guilty. (According to appellant’s trial counsel, neither appellant’s wife nor his brother knew “what he [Knowles] was going to testify to.”) (Tr. 217).
I fail to find in Knowles’ October 10, 1972, statement, the relevant portion of which is reproduced in the margin,3 a sufficient indication that he would have given relevant and material testimony that would have been genuinely favorable to appellant. Knowles merely stated, obviously in an effort to minimize his own participation in the alleged crime (he at first denied knowledge of the presence of drugs in the car), that the heroin (described by Knowles as cocaine) found in the envelopes on the front seat of the car next to a seat occupied by appellant, belonged to Powell and that Knowles was present when Powell had bought it.
Knowles did not say that appellant was not also present when the purchase had been made, or that appellant had not been informed about the heroin. Nor did *630Knowles indicate in any way that appellant was unaware of the presence of the heroin in the car or that he was not a co-owner or joint possessor with Knowles and Powell. Moreover, Knowles’ identification of Powell as the purchaser did not lead Knowles himself to deny joint possession — indeed, he pleaded guilty to knowing possession.
Since Knowles’ allocution statement is fully consistent with appellant’s having likewise been present at the purchase of the heroin, and having shared in knowing possession of the drug, the suggestion that he would have given testimony exculpating appellant amounts to rank speculation of the flimsiest sort. We could just as well infer that he failed to appear at trial because he knew that his testimony would incriminate appellant by implicating him in the possession to which Knowles himself had pleaded guilty even though Powell, according to Knowles’ statement, was the owner of the drug. The very fact that we must engage in this speculation reveals that appellant has failed to make the requisite showing, particularly with respect to whether the evidence would be favorable to his defense.
Indeed, appellant’s counsel repeatedly stated that he did not know what Knowles would testify, or whether his testimony would be favorable to appellant. He informed the state trial judge that he did not have “the foggiest idea whether . [Knowles’] testimony will help or hurt” appellant, and that the testimony of Knowles and Powell might in fact “make the District Attorney’s ease for him.” (Tr. 217, 214). The Supreme Court’s decision in Washington v. Texas, supra, 388 U.S. at 23, 87 S.Ct. 1920, heavily relied upon by the majority, is clearly distinguishable, since the record there showed the specific exculpatory testimony that would have been given by the witness had he been allowed to testify.
In addition to the 6-month period prior to trial during which Knowles or his counsel could have (but apparently did not) interview Knowles, appellant has had nearly four years from the date of his conviction (Aug. 30, 1973) to the filing of his federal habeas petition (Mar. 16,1977) within which to take such action. However, no showing is made of any effort to obtain from Knowles a statement of the substance of what he would have testified to if a continuance had been granted and he had been brought to trial as a material witness.
Absent a statement of what Knowles would testify or a showing of unsuccessful good faith efforts to interview Knowles, coupled with a reasonable basis for belief that he would, if brought to trial by force, give testimony that was relevant, material, and favorable to appellant, the circumstances here do not provide any basis for a constitutional claim under the Sixth or Fourteenth Amendments.

. Although the majority opinion states that the trial judge “refused” to grant a fourth continuance, the record shows that defense counsel never asked for a continuance when he returned to court on the afternoon of August 29, but instead rested without objection. (Tr. 224). Nor did counsel offer the transcript of Knowles’ allocution statement, which was available, and which counsel had earlier informed the court he would offer if Knowles did not appear. No suggestion was made by counsel at that time or at any other time during the trial that resumption of the proceedings without Knowles’ testimony would violate the appellant’s constitutional rights.
The importance of these facts is two-fold. First, it shows that this case is vastly different from Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14, 87 S.Ct. 1920, 18 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1967), which involved a defendant, charged with murder, who was not allowed to introduce exculpatory testimony of a co-defendant solely because of two seemingly irrational state statutes that disqualified an alleged or convicted accomplice from testifying for a defendant, although it permitted him to testify for the prosecution. The Supreme Court understandably characterized this as an arbitrary denial of the defendant’s right of compulsory process. 388 U.S. at 23, 87 S.Ct. 1920.
In this case, the state trial judge issued the subpoenas for Powell and Knowles when they were requested. The judge later inquired, at the opening of the trial, whether service had been made and encouraged defense counsel to make every effort to locate the witnesses. (Tr. 20). When the witnesses failed to respond to the subpoenas, the judge continued the trial, and then issued the material witness orders the next day when they still had not appeared. When informed that the police had mistakenly released Knowles from custody, the judge personally telephoned the District Attorney’s Office to determine what had occurred. He adjourned the trial for the third time, until the afternoon, and ordered the assistant district attorney to help the defendant and his counsel to locate Knowles again. (Tr. 222-23).
This solicitude for the defendant’s right to produce witnesses in his favor cannot be equated properly with the arbitrary denial of that right in Washington v. Texas, supra, particularly since defense counsel did not make another request for a continuance, made no objection to the resumption of the trial, and did not suggest to the court that Knowles’ absence would constitute a violation of appellant’s constitutional rights.
Secondly, counsel’s failure to follow through on his earlier expressed intention to offer the transcript of Knowles’ allocution statement suggests that the testimony was not considered as vital by him then as it is thought to be now.

. In his comprehensive article on the right to compulsory process, Professor Westen states, “[a] defendant is not entitled to a continuance (nor, for that matter a subpoena) for absent witnesses unless he can offer proof that their testimony will be competent, relevant, material, and favorable to his defense.” 74 Mich.L. Rev. at 241 (footnotes omitted).

. “The Court: What happened?
The Defendant: The police car flagged us down and asked for the registration of the car and Joe showed him the registration, you know; and he asked for the sticker of the car, and he couldn’t find the sticker so he took out his flashlight and flashed it on the car and accidentally flashed it on the seat and he saw a brown envelope on the seat, and in it he checked the envelope out and it contained drugs.
The Court: When you say Joe, who are you referring to?
The Defendant: One of the defendants, Joe Powell.
The Court: Who else was in the car?
The Defendant: A boy named Singleton.
The Court: Alonzo Singleton?
The Defendant: Yes.
The Court: Whose narcotic drug was it?
The Defendant: It was Joe’s.
The Court: How do you know?
The Defendant: Because he bought it.
The Court: How do you know he bought it; were you there?
The Defendant: Yes; I was there at the time.
The Court: So that you did know there was drugs in the car?
The Defendant: Yes.”