United States v. Brown
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
603 F.2d 1022 (1979)
At John Brown's (defendant's) theft trial, his friend Jerome Proulx, who evidence suggested may have accompanied and assisted Brown in the crime, testified reluctantly for the government, giving extended, hesitant, and incoherent answers that appeared forgetful and confused; the judge declared Proulx a hostile witness under Federal Rule of Evidence 611(c) and permitted the prosecutor to ask leading questions, and the jury convicted Brown, who appealed arguing the hostile-witness designation was erroneous.
Whether a trial judge properly exercises discretion in declaring a reluctant, evasive-seeming witness hostile and permitting leading questions to expedite and clarify testimony for the jury.