Right to Testify

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: James E. Riano v. Robert A. Mcdonald

Case No.: 15-2043

Officials: EASTERBROOK, WILLIAMS, and SYKES, Circuit Judges

Focus: Right to Testify

Appellant failed to show he was harmed by not having live patient testimony

“Because the board did not rely on the subjective feelings of patients, or the subjective intentions of Riano, Riano does not state a due‐process violation by arguing that live patient testimony and cross‐examination would have been relevant to those issues. In Green v. Board of School Commissioners, 716 F.2d 1191 (7th Cir. 1983), a school bus driver was fired for making “suggestive, lewd, and/or sexual advances” to girls on his bus. His argument that he was denied due process because he could not cross‐examine the girls was rejected, in part because he admitted to the relevant conduct and disputed only the irrelevant issue of his state of mind. Id. at 1193 (“Green concedes that he often ‘clowned around’ with girls on his bus. Maybe Green’s intentions when he touched these girls were not as bad as the girls believed. That, how‐ ever, is beside the point. Green was charged with having made ‘suggestive, lewd, and/or sexual advances,’ not with attempted rape.”). In McNeill v. Butz, 480 F.2d 314 (4th Cir. 1973), a male named McNeill and a female named Canaday were both fired from the Department of Agriculture for alleged wrongdoing. They were given hearings but not al‐ lowed to cross‐examine their accusers. The court found that under the particular circumstances, cross‐examination was constitutionally required. Id. at 325. The court reversed Canaday’s termination. Id. at 326. But it affirmed McNeill’s be‐ cause, though he denied some of the allegations against him, he admitted enough of them to justify his termination. Id. “

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.