missing witness rule
missing-witness rule. The doctrine that, when a party fails at trial to present a witness who is available only to that party and whose testimony would have been admissible, the jury is entitled to infer that the witness’s testimony would have been unfavorable to that party. [Cases: Criminal Law 317; Evidence 77; Trial 211. C.J.S. Criminal Law §§ 705–706; Evidence §§ 169–173; Trial §§ 501–504, 568.]
