Commonwealth v. Roark
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The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing Defendant's conviction and sentence and ordering a new trial, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in determining that a proposed witness, Alvin Couch, was available for trial.
Defendant was convicted of several drug-related offenses and sentenced him to a total of ten years' imprisonment. During trial, Defendant sought to introduce a certified video record of Couch's plea of guilty to manufacturing the drugs at issue. During trial, Defendant represented that he had subpoenaed Couch to testify at trial, but the trial court found no order existed compelling Couch's attendance at trial, and therefore, Couch did not qualify as an unavailable witness under Ky. R. Evid. 804(a)(5). The court of appeals reversed and ordered a new trial, concluding that defense counsel's representation that a subpoena had been delivered was sufficient to demonstrate a good faith effort had been made to procure Couch's presence at trial. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in determining that Couch was available for trial.
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