U.S. v. Roth, 52 M.J. 187

Military Justice Personnel: Military Judge: General Powers

1. sequestration and sanctions for violations of a sequestration order are matters within the discretion of the court, and such matters will be reviewed on appeal under an abuse of discretion standard
2. MRE 615 dealing with exclusion of witnesses from the court room is a rule of evidence which may be relaxed during the sentencing portion of the trial
3. the ultimate sanction of excluding a witness’s testimony should be used ordinarily to punish intentional or willful disobedience of the military judge’s sequestration orders

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Witnesses: Sequestration

1. sequestration and sanctions for violations of a sequestration order are matters within the discretion of the court, and such matters will be reviewed on appeal under an abuse of discretion standard
2. MRE 615 dealing with exclusion of witnesses from the court room is a rule of evidence which may be relaxed during the sentencing portion of the trial
3. military judge abused her discretion by excluding testimony of defense rebuttal witness during sentencing as a sanction for non-sequestration where: (1) the witness was prepared to dispute a significant piece of evidence; (2) government counsel did not ask the witness to leave the room during government’s aggravation evidence, and there is nothing to suggest that defense counsel engaged in any deliberate or willful improper manner; (3) the ultimate sanction of excluding the witness’s testimony should be used ordinarily to punish intentional or willful disobedience of sequestration orders; (4) the government would not have been prejudiced by the testimony of the witness; and, (5) the issue upon which the witness would testify was important in sentencing, and it was fundamentally unfair to leave testimony of government witness unrebutted
4. the ultimate sanction of excluding a witness’s testimony should be used ordinarily to punish intentional or willful disobedience of the military judge’s sequestration orders

Trial Stages: Sentence and Punishment: Evidence

1. MRE 615 dealing with exclusion of witnesses from the court room is a rule of evidence which may be relaxed during the sentencing portion of the trial

Trial Stages: Appeals: Standards of Review, Burdens, etc.

1. sequestration and sanctions for violations of a sequestration order are matters within the discretion of the court, and such matters will be reviewed on appeal under an abuse of discretion standard