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Harris v. Tioga County

Request to Compel Testimony About Conversations With Estranged, Dead Wife Properly Denied

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MEMORANDUM DECISION and ORDER I. INTRODUCTION Plaintiff Calvin Harris (“Mr. Harris” or “plaintiff’) has appealed from a May 10, 2021 Order issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge Therese Wiley Dancks denying his motion to compel non-party witness Betty Keene, Esq. (“Attorney Keene”) to answer certain deposition questions. The appeal has been fully briefed and will be considered on the basis of the submissions without oral argument. II. BACKGROUND1 Mr. Harris lives in Tioga County. Compl. 17. In September of 2001, he and his wife, Michele Harris (“Mrs. Harris” or “Michele”), were separated and in the midst of divorce proceedings. Id. 27. Although they were estranged, the Harrises continued to share the family house in Spencer, New York. See id.; see also People v. Harris, 19 N.Y.3d 679, 683 (N.Y. 2012). Mrs. Harris disappeared the night of September 11, 2001. The family’s babysitter found her car abandoned on the street at the end of a long driveway that led to the family’s home. See Compl. 28; Harris, 19 N.Y.3d at 683. However, an investigation by law enforcement came up empty save for a few drops of dried blood in the kitchen and the garage. Compl. 5. Mrs. Harris has not been seen since and was eventually presumed dead. See id. The Tioga County District Attorney sought and obtained an indictment charging Mr. Harris with Michele’s murder. Compl. 8. When the first indictment was thrown out for prosecutorial misconduct, the District Attorney presented the case to a different grand jury and obtained a second indictment. Id.

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