William O. Witherspoon v. The Honorable Leonard P. Walsh, Judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia

By this petition for a writ of prohibition, the petitioner, William O. Wither-spoon, sought to prevent the respondent, the Honorable Leonard P. Walsh, from enforcing against him the sanction provided in Rule 87 of the Local Rules of the District Court for the District of Columbia. Rule 87 requires a defendant, on demand, to furnish the Government with a list of the witnesses on whom the defendant will rely to establish an alibi defense at trial. The sanction for non-compliance by a defendant, in the absence of good cause shown, is exclusion at trial of any alibi evidence other than the…