By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//August 3, 2012//
United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit
Criminal
Criminal Procedure — subpoenas
Although the district court misunderstood the scope of its subpoena power, the error did not substantially affect the defendant’s rights.
“The Sixth Amendment guarantees a defendant the right to present his own witnesses to establish his defense. Taylor v. Illinois, 484 U.S. 400, 409 (1988). Garvey alleges that the district court’s initial misstatement of its subpoena power was plain error resulting in the denial of this right. Had the district court properly stated its subpoena jurisdiction in the Friday conference, Garvey would have had an additional weekend to serve Hoopman and present his testimony at trial. Garvey acknowledges that Hoopman’s testimony would have been presented solely for impeachment purposes. He argues that because the government placed so much reliance on Wyttenbach’s testimony to convict Garvey, Hoopman’s testimony was crucial because it demonstrated that Wyttenbach lied and played a bigger role than he let on. This, in turn, would have cast doubt on Garvey’s role in the conspiracy. But we believe Garvey overstates the value of Hoopman’s testimony. Garvey’s counsel thoroughly impeached Wyttenbach during trial. Wyttenbach admitted that he lied to police and downplayed his role in the conspiracy to protect himself and his friends. Thus, any impeachment testimony by Hoopman would have been cumulative.”
Affirmed.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Conley, J., Kanne, J.