2020 Investigative Summary 11

INVESTIGATION OF ALLEGED VIOLATION OF DEFENDANT'S SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO PRESENT A DEFENSE, WITNESS COERCION, AND UNPROFESSIONAL STATEMENTS

A district court found that an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) violated a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to present a defense by intimidating a defense trial witness through a conversation with the witness’s attorney, after which the witness declined to testify.  OPR conducted an investigation and concluded that the preponderance of the evidence did not establish that the AUSA made the impermissible or threatening statements that the trial judge inferred or that the AUSA’s actions proximately caused the witness to decline to testify.  However, OPR concluded that in his interactions with the attorney regarding the witness’s prospective testimony, the AUSA exhibited poor judgment by failing to conduct himself in a more measured and less aggressive manner and to more carefully consider whether it was necessary to convey to the attorney the potential consequences the witness might face should the witness not truthfully testify.