Attorney witness allowed in courtroom

The defense in a Magnuson-Moss warranty case listed one of plaintiff's two attorneys as a witness and moved that he be excluded from the courtroom during other witnesses’ testimony. The trial court allowed him to be present (with some limitations -- e.g., the other lawyer conducted some examinations). The 9th Circuit, addressing this "novel question under Federal Rule of Evidence 615," finds that the district court did not abuse its discretion. Milicevic v. Fletcher Jones Imports, Ltd., --- F.3d ---, 2005 WL 697027 (9th Cir. March 28, 2005), Find Result - 2005 WL 697027. The 9th Circuit also upheld the district court's reduction of the plaintiff's attorneys' fees because it was not necessary to have both attorneys prepare for trial.

Categories: witnesses, 615, practice-of-law, attorney's-fees, cases