Substitute House Bill No. 5584
          Substitute House Bill No. 5584

               PUBLIC ACT NO. 98-50


AN ACT CONCERNING THE FAILURE TO CALL A WITNESS AT
A CIVIL TRIAL.


    Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
    (NEW)  No court in the trial of a civil action
may  instruct   the   jury   that   an   inference
unfavorable to any party's cause may be drawn from
the failure of any party to call a witness at such
trial.  However,  counsel  for  any  party  to the
action shall be entitled to argue to the trier  of
fact   during   closing  arguments,  except  where
prohibited  by  section  52-174  of  the   general
statutes,  that  the  jury  should draw an adverse
inference from another party's failure to  call  a
witness  who  has  been  proven to be available to
testify.

Approved May 19, 1998