Court Opinion

ID: 9493203
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 15:01:10.10138+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:55:42.659743
License: Public Domain

WILKINS, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and concurring in the judgment:
I concur in the judgment that Rhynes’ conviction and sentence be vacated and his case remanded for a new trial, and in what Judge King has written in Parts III and IV of his opinion. The district court plainly abused its discretion in excluding the testimony of defense witness Alexander. And, this error was harmful. Consequently, proper resolution of this appeal can be achieved without addressing the more difficult question of whether defense attorney Scofield actually violated the sequestration order.
As Judge King points out, see ante at 314, when Alexander stated, “[A]nd I hear from Tuesday [Davis] got up and said ...” the Government immediately objected. A bench conference and a meeting of counsel and the district judge in chambers took place. As to what was said by Scofield to sequestered witness Alexander, the record contains only Scofield’s representation to the court. A fair reading of his representation indicates that his conversation with Alexander was limited to relating the accusation made by Davis from the witness stand that Alexander was a drug dealer. If this is truly what happened, exclusion of Alexander’s testimony was a sanction totally disproportionate to any possible violation of the sequestration order. Alternatively, while an on-the-record inquiry may have uncovered facts sufficient to support a conclusion that the asserted violation of the sequestration order was sufficiently egregious to justify the extreme sanction of exclusion, the failure to conduct such an inquiry before imposing the sanction was itself an abuse of discretion.
I.
Sequestration of trial witnesses serves the important purpose of “discouraging] and exposing] fabrication, inaccuracy, and collusion.” Opus 3 Ltd. v. Heritage Park, Inc., 91 F.3d 625, 628 (4th Cir.1996); see United States v. McMahon, 104 F.3d 638, 643 (4th Cir.1997) (noting that sequestration of witnesses “prevent[s] the possibility of one witness shaping his testimony to match that given by other witnesses at the trial” (internal quotation marks omitted)). Next to cross-examination, sequestration is “one of the greatest engines that the skill of man has ever invented for the detection of liars in a court of justice.” Opus 3 Ltd., 91 F.3d at 628 (internal quotation marks omitted).
Given the importance of sequestration to the truth-finding process, the violation of a sequestration order should not be taken lightly. However, depending on the situation, numerous means exist to correct violations when they occur. For example, the court may grant opposing counsel broad latitude in cross-examination in order to expose the extent of any taint resulting from the violation. See United States v. Eyster, 948 F.2d 1196, 1211 (11th Cir.1991). The court may also instruct the *325jury that the violation of the sequestration order is relevant in determining the witness’ credibility. See United States v. Cropp, 127 F.3d .354, 363 (4th Cir.1997). In some cases, it may be appropriate to sanction the offending witness directly. See id.; McMahon, 104 F.3d at 642 (noting that “[i]t has -long been established that a judge may find a person who violates a sequestration order in contempt of court”). Additionally, the extreme sanction of exclusion of witness testimony is sometimes an appropriate remedy for violation of a sequestration order. See Cropp, 127 F.3d at 363.
Although exclusion of witness testimony is an available remedy for violation of a sequestration order, it is not a favored one. See Holder v. United States, 150 U.S. 91, 92, 14 S.Ct. 10, 37 L.Ed. 1010 (1893) (observing that a witness who has violated a sequestration order “is not thereby disqualified [from-testifying], and the weight of authority is that he cannot be excluded on that ground” alone, although exclusion may be warranted in some cases); Cropp, 127 F.3d at 363 (expressing hesitation “to endorse the use of such an extreme remedy” as exclusion); see also Department of Energy v. White, 653 F.2d 479, 490 (C.C.P.A.1981) (characterizing exclusion as a “draconian remedy,” the damage of which in that case “outweigh[ed] any possible harm of supposedly tainted evidence”). Indeed, because the exclusion of a defense witness implicates the defendant’s due process right to present testimony in his own defense, exclusion should be reserved for those instances in which violation of the sequestration order resulted from intentional misconduct by the defendant or defense counsel. See United States v. Hobbs, 31 F.3d 918, 922 (9th Cir.1994); see also Rowan v. Owens, 752 F.2d 1186, 1191 (7th Cir.1984) (noting that exclusion “might, by making it impossible for the defendant to put on a meritorious defense, be a disproportionate sanction for ... violation” of a sequestration order).
II.
A.'
Assuming that Scofield related only Davis’ allegation -that Alexander was a drqg dealer, in view of the nature of the asserted violation, the minor effect of any violation on the truth-finding process, and the severe potential impact of the exclusion of Alexander’s testimony on Rhynes’ ability to meet the charges against him, the district court abused its discretion in excluding Alexander’s testimony. First, the violation, even if one occurred, was not an egregious one. Davis testified that Alexander was involved in dealing narcotics. Understandably, defense counsel Scofield was very interested in ascertaining how his only witness would react when confronted with this accusation — would he deny it, admit it, or refuse to respond, perhaps asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination? Thus, there can be no doubt that competent counsel would have asked Alexander about the subject of Davis’ testimony, and under the circumstances there can be little question that even the most carefully phrased question would have alerted Alexander — or any person of normal intelligence — to the fact that the allegation had probably been made in trial testimony. Any possible violation of the sequestration order occurred solely because Scofield used the words “Davis testified” rather than some more neutral phrasing; indeed, no one suggests that Scofield would have violated the sequestration order by asking even a very pointed question that did not identify Davis’ testimony as the source of the allegation. Additionally, it appears from Sco-field’s representation that his conversation with Alexander was a product of a misunderstanding of the scope the district court intended its order to have, a fact which further lessens the severity of any violation. Cf. Miller v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 650 F.2d 1365, 1373-74 (5th Cir.1981) (affirming exclusion of witness as remedy for “a clear and intentional” violation of a sequestration order).
*326Second, the asserted violation did not threaten to undermine the purpose of the sequestration order, namely, the prevention of collusion and fabrication. The district court was not faced with a situation in which one witness’ testimony regarding key facts was related to a sequestered witness, giving the latter an opportunity to tailor his testimony to the prior testimony. In such a case, exclusion might well be an appropriate remedy, particularly when the extent to which the witness’ testimony has been tainted cannot be determined. Here, in contrast, the alleged violation of the sequestration order provided no opportunity for Alexander to tailor his testimony to that of any other witness. Rather, Alexander simply responded to impeachment testimony by Davis. See United States v. Shurn, 849 F.2d 1090, 1094 (8th Cir.1988) (explaining that impeachment testimony does not implicate the purpose of Rule 615 to prevent tailored testimony).
Finally, any violation of the sequestration order affected only a limited portion of Alexander’s testimony. Alexander testified on a number of matters. In particular, he testified to the existence of legitimate sources for Rhynes’ purportedly unexplained wealth (which the Government contended was derived from drug dealing) and corroborated Rhynes’ testimony regarding a trip to New York. Additionally, Alexander impeached several Government witnesses, including Davis. None of this testimony could have been tainted by the asserted violation of the sequestration order.
Based on the foregoing considerations, I agree with Judge King that the district court abused its discretion in excluding Alexander’s testimony. Given the relatively minor nature of the asserted violation, the absence of a significant denigration of the truth-finding process, and the limited extent of any potential prejudice, remedies other than complete exclusion of Alexander’s testimony would have been wholly adequate. In my view, it would have been adequate, for example, for the district court to allow the Government free rein to cross-examine Alexander regarding his discussions with Scofield. Cf. United States v. Posada-Rios, 158 F.3d 832, 871-72 (5th Cir.1998) (holding that refusal to strike testimony for violation of sequestration order was not abuse of discretion when opposing party was provided with full opportunity to cross-examine witness), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1031, 526 U.S. 1080, 526 U.S. 1137, 119 S.Ct. 1280, 119 S.Ct. 1487, 119 S.Ct. 1792, 143 L.Ed.2d 373, 143 L.Ed.2d 569, 143 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1999). Exclusion was not necessary, and under the circumstances was excessive.
B.
On the other hand, statements by the district court indicate that it may have been under the impression that a great deal more of Davis’ testimony was related to Alexander than just the allegation that Alexander was a drug dealer. It may be that the decision of the district court to exclude Alexander’s testimony was based on this impression. However, the record was not developed and a factual foundation laid to support such a conclusion. Further exploration of this important issue on the record was unquestionably required before imposing the extreme sanction of excluding Alexander’s testimony in its entirety.
While I fully recognize that appellate judges review the decisions of our colleagues on the trial bench with 2%o hindsight, it is clear that before excluding Alexander’s testimony the district court should have excused the jury and questioned Alexander about the extent and detail of his conversation with Scofield while sequestered. If necessary, Scofield should have been required to submit to examination as well. The failure to conduct such an inquiry rendered the record on appeal woefully inadequate, for the pertinent facts were simply not ascertained. And, the district court was in the same position as we are now — ie., lacking sufficient information as to the actual extent of Scofield’s *327conversation with Alexander — when it decided to exclude Alexander’s testimony.
Thus, regardless of which scenario is addressed, the result in each is that Alexander’s testimony should not have been excluded.
Judge Williams and Judge Traxler have asked to be shown as joining in this opinion.

. In a separate opinion, Judge Luttig agrees, arguing that attorneys in a case subject to a Rule 615 sequestration order are prohibited only "in spirit” from acting as a "go-between” two witnesses — one who has testified and the other who is about to testily. He argues that the district court’s order that “witnesses shall not discuss one with the other their testimony” is not addressed to attorneys and therefore permits a practice by which an attorney can act as the eyes and ears of communication between witnesses. I would reject this practice not only as directly violative of the court's order but also as contumacious.