United States v. Pelton & Rich
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
578 F.2d 701 (1978)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Jacqueline Rich (defendant) was indicted on various crimes related to an alleged prostitution operation. The prosecution (plaintiff) had evidence that Rich had transported Kathleen Waggoner from St. Louis to Chicago in furtherance of the operation. Waggoner testified before a grand jury that Rich had not taken her to Chicago for purposes of prostitution and had not set up any prostitution dates for her. As a result of this testimony, Waggoner was indicted for perjury. The indictment contained the transcript of Waggoner’s testimony. At Rich’s trial, Rich did not call Waggoner as a witness. Rich told the court that Waggoner’s attorney had stated that he would advise Waggoner to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights were she to be called as a witness. As a result, Rich sought to introduce the grand jury transcript under Federal Rule of Evidence 804 (Rule 804), arguing that Waggoner was unavailable as a witness. The prosecution objected, and the district court sustained, prohibiting the introduction of the transcript. Rich appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Gibson, C.J.)
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