United States v. McFall
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
558 F.3d 951 (2009)

- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Monte McFall (defendant) was indicted on crimes stemming from an alleged extortion scheme. Neat Allen Sawyer testified before the grand jury. Sawyer was later indicted as well but had not been at the time of his testimony. Sawyer’s testimony largely corroborated McFall’s version of events. At McFall’s trial, Sawyer was unavailable to testify because he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. McFall sought to introduce the transcript of Sawyer’s grand-jury testimony as admissible former testimony under Federal Rule of Evidence 804(b)(1). The district court sustained the prosecution’s objection on the ground that the government’s motives in questioning Sawyer before the grand jury were not sufficiently similar to what its motives would be at trial. McFall was convicted, and he appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Tashima, J.)
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