United States v. Valencia-Riascos

Defendant appealed the district court's denial of his requests to limit the courtroom presence of a law enforcement officer who was the prosecution's main witness. Defendant argued that the district court abused its discretion and denied him due process by declining to exclude the officer from the courtroom, by allowing the officer to sit at the prosecution's table, and by declining to require the officer testify first. The court affirmed the judgment, concluding that Federal Rule of Evidence 615 required a district court to permit a designated officer to be present during trial and any related decisions were discretionary. Accordingly, there was no abuse of discretion or violation of due process. View "United States v. Valencia-Riascos" on Justia Law