Miss. R. Evid. 615
At a party's request, the court must order witnesses excluded so that they cannot hear other witnesses' testimony. Or the court may do so on its own. But this rule does not authorize excluding:
Miss. R. Evid. 615
Advisory Committee Historical Note
Effective January 31, 1990, the Advisory Committee Note was amended to include reference to a case. 553-560 So. 2d XXVII (West Miss. Cas. 1990).
Advisory Committee Note
The language of Rule 615 has been amended as part of the general restyling of the Evidence Rules to make them more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules. Lower-case lettered subdivisions have replaced numbered paragraphs as first-level formatting. These changes are intended to be stylistic only. There is no intent to change any result in any ruling on evidence admissibility.
The excluding or sequestering witnesses has long been recognized as a means of discouraging and exposing falsification, inaccuracy, and collusion. The rule of sequestration, or simply "the rule" as it has been known in Mississippi, has a time-honored tradition in state trial practice. Prior to these Rules, Reagan Equipment Co. v. Vaughn Gin Co., 425 So.2d 1045 (Miss. 1983), provided guidance for implementation of "the rule."
Under Rule 615 exceptions are made for several categories of witnesses. First, parties are excepted because their exclusion would raise serious problems of confrontation and due process. Secondly, as the equivalent of the right of a natural-person party to be present, a party that is not a natural person is entitled to have a representative present. The third category includes a person such as an agent who handled the transaction being litigated, an expert needed to advise counsel during the litigation, or an expert witness who must hear the testimony of other witnesses in order to form an opinion which he will later state testimonially. Collins v. State, 361 So.2d 333 (Miss. 1978), provides guidance for permitting an expert to remain in the courtroom. In each instance the person's presence must be "shown by a party to be essential to the presentation of his case."
The sequestration may arise from a motion of a party or from the court on its own motion. This differs from pre-rule Mississippi practice in which a judge would not invoke the rule unless requested.
This rule differs from former Mississippi practice whereunder a party could be excluded during his case-in-chief only after he had the choice of testifying before his other witnesses. Under this rule, a party may remain in the courtroom at all times.
This rule does not discuss sanctions for violation of the sequestration order. Under existing Mississippi law the court has the discretion to exclude the offending witness from testifying. See Johnson v. State, 346 So.2d 927 (Miss. 1977). The trial judge should not permit a witness who has violated the rule to testify unless he has first determined that the adversary would not be prejudiced by the violation of the rule. Other available remedies might be to strike the testimony of a witness who violated the rule, cite the witness for contempt, or allow a "full-bore" cross-examination. See Douglas v. State, 525 So.2d 1312 (Miss. 1988).
["Advisory Committee Note" substituted for "Comment," effective June 16, 2016; amended July 1, 2016, to note restyling.]
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