# § 8900. Evidence admissible when witness is not available
Whenever the court is satisfied by appropriate evidence or by agreement of counsel that the United States or the claimant is unable after reasonable efforts to secure the testimony of a witness and—
**(1)** the United States or the claimant has been prevented by a stay under this chapter from examining the witness; or
**(2)** the United States establishes that it has refrained from bringing a suit or from taking the testimony of the witness in a pending suit to avoid endangering the security of naval operations or interfering with such operations;
the court shall receive in evidence in place of the testimony of the witness—
**(1)** the affidavit of the witness duly sworn to before a notary public or other authorized officer; or
**(2)** the statement or testimony of the witness before a court-martial, a court of inquiry, or an investigation; but the use of such statement or testimony does not, in any litigation, make the remainder of the record admissible or compel the United States to produce the remainder of the record.
The court shall give such weight to the affidavit, statement, or testimony as it considers proper under the circumstances.
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**Source Credit**: (Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 485, § 7730; renumbered § 8900, Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 807(d)(10), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1837.)
| Revised section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 7730 | 46 U.S.C. 795. | July 3, 1944, ch. 399, § 5, 58 Stat. 725. |
The words “naval”, “board of investigation”, and “Coast Guard investigation” are omitted as surplusage.
## Editorial Notes
### Amendments
2018— renumbered as this section.
## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
### Effective Date of 2018 Amendment
Amendment by effective , with provision for the coordination of amendments and special rule for certain redesignations, see , set out as a note preceding .