ELR Citation: ELR 20123
No(s). s. 06-30472, -30524 (9th Cir. May 15, 2008)

The Ninth Circuit held that a district court had the authority to order and enforce the pretrial disclosures of government witnesses and evidentiary documents in a pending criminal case concerning a mining operation in Libby, Montana. A district court, consistent with Rules 2 and 16 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure as well as the court's inherent authority to manage its docket, may in appropriate circumstances require the government to disclose a final list of its proposed trial witnesses and has the authority to enforce such an order. Here, the district court did not abuse its discretion in doing so.

[A prior decision in this litigation can be found at 37 ELR 20186.]