*This order and judgment is not binding precedent except under the doctrines of

law of the case, res judicataand collateral estoppel. The court generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3. 

## F I L E D United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit 

### SEP 14 1998 

### PATRICK FISHER Clerk UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

TENTH CIRCUIT

__________________________ ED MEDINA; LUPE MEDINA, individually and on behalf of the estate of Joe Cisneros, and as guardians and next friends of Faith Cisneros and Roman Cisneros, minors; JOE CISNEROS, est; FAITH CISNEROS; ROMAN CISNEROS, Plaintiffs-Appellants,

v. DANNY PACHECO, individually and in his official capacity; FRANK GALLEGOS, individually and in his official capacity; THE VILLAGE OF QUESTA, Defendants-Appellees, and DENNIS RUIZ, in his individual capacity; JAMES LUCERO, in his individual capacity; LAWRENCE GALLEGOS, individually and in his official capacity, Defendants. No. 97-2013 (D. N.M.) (D.Ct. No. CIV-95-1004-JC)

__________________________ ORDER AND JUDGMENT *-2-

Before TACHA, BRORBY, and BRISCOE , Circuit Judges.

__________________________ Ed and Lupe Medina appeal several of the district c ourt’s rulings concerning their 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims against a number of state officials. We exercise jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm.

On September 11, 1993, Joe Cisneros took his two ch ildren to visit the home of their maternal grandparents, James and Delo res Martinez. During that visit, Mr. Cisneros got into an argument with the c hildren’s mother (who was living in a trailer behind her parents’ house). As a result of the argument, Mr. Cisneros decided to leave with his children. Afterhe left, he brought the children back to the home of his great uncle and aunt, Ed an d Lupe Medina, where he and the children were living at the time.

The children’s maternal grandmother, Mrs. Martinez, did not want Mr. Cisneros to take them from her home, so she called the local police. After speaking to Mr. and Mrs. Martinez, the Chief of Pol ice, defendant Danny Pacheco, and another officer, defendant Frank Galle gos, went to the Medina home to resolve the dispute. Upon arrival, the officers told the Medinas and Mr. Cisneros that they would be taking the children. T he Medinas protested, so the1 For various reasons, the only defendants involved in this appeal are Officer

Pacheco, Officer Gallegos, and the Village of Questa. The court will refer to these three collectively as “the defendants.”

-3- officers called an official, defendant Dennis Ruiz, at the Taos County Social Services office of the Children, Youth, and Familie s Department. Mr. Ruiz spoke with Mr. Medina, and as a result of that phone call , Mr. Medina apparently agreed to turn over the children to the officers. The off icers took the children to the home of their maternal grandparents, the Martinezes . Two days later, the Medinas successfully sued for return of the childre n, and they were reunited three days after the officers removed the children from t he Medinas’ home.

The Medinas filed a complaint in federal district c ourt, on behalf of themselves, the children, and the estate of Mr. Cis neros (who died in an unrelated accident before complaint was filed). Their compla int asserted numerous claims based on 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and New Mexico state law. The lawsuit named as defendants the two police officers, two Children, Y outh, and Families Department officials, the Village of Questa, which employed th e police officers, and the Mayor of the Village of Questa. 1 Prior to trial, the district court dismissed the claims filed on behalf of Mr. Cisneros’ estate, fin ding they did not survive his death. The court also dismissed all claims againstthe mayor, the claims against2In their brief, the Medinas raised a sixth issue: the district court erred in failing

to direct a verdict in their favor on the claim of interference with intimate familial relationship. This issue was abandoned during oral argument.

-4- one of the Children, Youth, and Families Departmentofficials, and various state law claims. The parties then proceeded to trial on the remaining claims. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendants on al l claims. The Medinas appeal several of the district court’s decisions leading up to, and during, the trial.

The Medinas raise five issues: 2 (1) whether the district court gave an improper jury instruction on “interference with int imate familial relationship;” (2) whether the district court erred in refusing to giv e a proposed jury instruction on consent; (3) whether the district court erred by al lowing a defense expert to testify too broadly concerning the Medinas’ alleged injurie s; (4) whether the district court erred in ruling Mr. Cisneros’ claims did not survive his death; and (5) whether the district court erred in excluding evide nce concerning possible prior misconduct by two of the defendants.

Inadequate record on appeal We must address a preliminary matter before dealing with any of the specific issues on the merits. Defendants argue th e Medinas have failed to3 There is no question this court can consider the legal issue whether Mr.

Cisneros’ claims survive his death. Thus, we will address appellant’s fourth issue on the merits. During oral argument, counsel for the defendants suggested review of all the other issues was precluded for lack of an adequate record. In the defendants’ brief, however, there is no suggestion that this court cannot reach the question of whether the jury instruction on intimate familial relationships misstated the law. We believe an adequate record exists to decide this, appellants’ first issue, as well.

4Counsel for the Medinas claims he submitted a partial transcript in an effort to comply with the court’s Rule 10.1, which cautions parties not to order unnecessary transcripts. That rule states, however, “[i]t is the appellant’s responsibility to order and provide all portionsof the transcript necessary to give the court of appeals a complete and accurate record of the proceedings insofar as such proceedings relate to the issues raised on appeal.” 10th Cir. R. 10.1.1 (emphasis added). Counsel should not interpret “complete and accurate” to mean only that testimony or evidence that supports appellants’ position.

-5- preserve all but two of the issues they raise becau se they supplied an incomplete record. 3 See King v. Unocal Corp. , 58 F.3d 586 (10th Cir. 1995). In large part,
we agree.

“It is the appellant’s responsibility to provide us with a proper record on appeal.” 4 King , 58 F.3d at 587 (citing Fed. R. App. P. 10(b)(2); Yarrington v. Davies , 992 F.2d 1077, 1080 (10th Cir. 1993)). Counsel m ust “‘see that the record excerpts are sufficient for consideration an d determination of the issues on appeal and the court is under no obligation to reme dy any failure of counsel to fulfill that responsibility.’” Id. (quoting Deines v. Vermeer Mfg. Co. , 969 F.2d-6-

977, 979 (10th Cir. 1992)).

With respect to their second issue – whether the di strict court erred in refusing to give a proposed jury instruction on con sent – the Medinas state, without citing to any relevant portions of the reco rd: “During the course of the trial, defendants relied heavily on the assertion t hat when the defendant officers wanted to take Faith and Roman Cisneros into custody, ... the Medinas gave the children up voluntarily.” Unfortunately, they do n ot provide a transcript of the defendants’ side of the trial. Counsel justifies t his by saying it is clear that the issue was contested from opening statements and the testimony of one witness. The question is not only whether the issue was cont ested. When deciding whether a court improperly instructed a jury, “‘we considerall the jury heard, and from the standpoint of the jury, decide ... whether it had [ an] understanding of the issues and its duty to determine these issues.’” King , 58 F.3d at 587 (quoting Considine v. Newspaper Agency Corp. , 43 F.3d 1349, 1365 (10th Cir. 1994)). Without al l the relevant portions of the record, we simply cann ot determine whether the court properly denied the challenged instruction. See id. at 587-88 (citing Shamrock Drilling Fluids, Inc. v. Miller , 32 F.3d 455, 460 (10th Cir. 1994)). For that reason, we will not address this issue on the merit s.-7-

With respect to their third issue – whether the dis trict court erred by allowing a defense expert to testify too broadly – the Medinas argue the expert’s testimony went far beyond what was required to make the defendants’ case on damages. The defendants argue the expert’s testimo ny was necessary to rebut evidence presented by the Medinas. The Medinas did not provide us a record of any evidence pertaining to damages other than the e xpert’s testimony they now challenge ( e.g., the testimony of the Medinas concerning their inju ries). Counsel for the Medinas argues nothing more is needed becau se the point they raise on appeal is that the expert should have been limited to discussing damages. Again, evidentiary decisions rarely are made in a vacuum. There simply is no way for this court to determine whether the district court abused its discretion in allowing the full breadth of the expert’s testimony without reviewing all the previously admitted evidence relevant to the Medina’s damages claim. Accordingly, we will not address the merits of this issue.

Finally, the defendants challenge the sufficiency o f the record with respect to the Medinas’ fifth issue – whether the district court erred in excluding evidence concerning possible prior misconduct by two of the defendants. We have5Although not for the reason offered by counsel. Counsel for the Medinas argues

the record is sufficient on this issue because the record contains the opening statements and the pre-trial pleadings. Counsel should know such statements and pleadings are not evidence. The district court based its ruling on the evidence produced at trial. Likewise, our review of that decision must be based on the evidence produced at trial.

-8- sufficient material to resolve this issue. 5 Consequently, we will address it on the merits.

Jury Instruction on Interference with Intimate Familial Relations With respect to the claim of interference with inti mate familial relations, the district court instructed the jury it must find , among other things, “that the conduct of the government constituted an undue burd en on the Plaintiffs’ right to intimate familial relations.” The Medinas argue th is instruction was incorrect as a matter of law.

“‘[W]e review de novo the question of whether the c ourt’s instructions, considered as a whole, properly state the applicabl e law and focus the jury on the relevant inquiry.’” Thomas v. Denny’s, Inc. , 111 F.3d 1506, 1509 (10th Cir. 1997) (quoting York v. American Tel. & Tel. Co. , 95 F.3d 948, 953 (10th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 118 S. Ct. 626 (1997). “No particular form of wo rds is essential if the instruction as a whole conveys the correct statement of the-9-

applicable law.” Considine , 43 F.3d at 1365 (alteration in original) (quotati on omitted). We reverse for a faulty jury instruction when “we have substantial doubt whether the instructions, considered as a who le, properly guided the jury in its deliberations,” Mason v. Oklahoma Turnpike Auth. , 115 F.3d 1442, 1454 (10th Cir. 1997), but only if the error was prejudicial, Dikeman v. National Educators, Inc. , 81 F.3d 949, 955 (10th Cir. 1996).

The language used in the instruction comes from thi s court’s decision in Griffin v. Strong , 983 F.2d 1544 (10th Cir. 1993). In Griffin , we determined that in order to decide if a plaintiff’s familial associ ation rights have been violated, we apply a balancing test weighing the state’s interes ts in protecting children against the family member’s interests in his or her familia l right of association. Id. at 1547. Examining the parties’ interest in light of the facts of the case, we weigh those interests to determine whether the state offi cial’s conduct constitutes an “undue burden” on the family member’s rights. Id.

The district court used the “undue burden” standard in the jury instruction, but it did not provide any discussion or explanatio n of the competing interests to be balanced by the jury. The Medinas argue the ter m “undue burden” inadequately captures the required balancing test. They contend an instruction6A large part of the Medinas’ discussion regarding this issue boils down to an

implicit argument they are entitled to a directed verdict based on insufficiency of the evidence because the state officials did not believe the children were abused, neglected, abandoned, or in danger. As noted earlier, during oral argument counsel conceded the Medinas are not entitled to a directed verdict. We will assume that concession also applies to their related discussion on this issue.

7For example, the court should have used something along these lines: The right to family integrity or association protects family relationships. The interest in protecting the family is counterbalanced by two competing interests, the interest of a child within the family to be free from abuse, and the government’s interest in protecting powerless children who may be -10- that explicitly “balance[d] the interests of the Pl aintiffs’ right to be free from interference with intimate familial relations again st the state’s interest in protecting powerless children to be free from abuse and neglect” would have done a better job of forcing the jury to focus on the St ate’s interest in this case (or lack thereof), as well the burden it imposed. 6 They suggest the “undue burden” test eliminates any sense of balancing – that it led the jury to focus on whether the officers’ actions were intrusive without also consi dering the Medinas’ equally important protected family interest. Without an explicit reference to the counterbalancing interest, they argue, the instruct ion failed to give the jury any frame of reference for determining exactly what mig ht be “undue.”

We agree with the Medinas that the instruction prov ided by the district court was incomplete. 7However, on review, our role is not to determine whatsubject to abuse. [You must weigh these interests to determine whether the

officers’ conduct in this case constituted an undue burden on the Medinas’ associational rights.] Griffin , 983 F.2d at 1549 n.6.

-11- instruction we would have given, it is to decide wh ether the instruction may have misled the jury. On this point we must disagree wi th the Medinas. The word “undue” connotes the balancing test required becaus e it only has meaning in the context of weighing one thing against another. One cannot determine if some action was due or undue without considering the cir cumstances. Clearly, the officers’ actions imposed a “burden” on the Medinas ’ associational rights. The jury instruction focused the jurors’ attention on t hat burden and required them to decide if it was excessive in light of the facts. Because the competing interests at stake were fairly obvious – the instruction establi shes the Medinas had a right to intimate familial association entitled to constitut ional protection – and the word “undue” requires a balancing analysis, we do not have substantial doubt whether this instruction led the jury to conduct the requir ed balancing test. For this reason, we affirm the district court’s ruling.-12-

Joe Cisneros’ Claims Following the incident in question, but before the filing of the complaint in this case, the father of the children, Mr. Cisneros , died. Mr. Medina, acting as Administrator of Mr. Cisneros’ estate, asserted the rights of Mr. Cisneros in the complaint.

Prior to trial, the district court dismissed the cl aims brought on behalf of Mr. Cisneros’ estate, finding they did not survive his death. The court analogized Mr. Cisneros’ claims to intentional torts, which itdetermined do not survive the death of the victim in New Mexico. The Medinas cha llenge that decision. “We review de novo a district court’s dismissal of a cause of action for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” Chemical Weapons Working Group, Inc. v. United States Dep’t of the Army , 111 F.3d 1485, 1490 (10th Cir. 1997).

Survival of § 1983 actions after a plaintiff’s deat h is governed by state law, as long as the state law is “not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States.” Robertson v. Wegmann , 436 U.S. 584, 588-90 (1978); Hopkins v. Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System , ___ F.3d ___, ___, 1998 WL 348407, *2 (10th Cir. Jun. 30, 1998); 42 U.S.C. § 1 988(a). Therefore, we must look first to New Mexico state law to determine if Mr. Cisneros’ claims survive.8Counsel for the Medinas bases his argument on the final sentence of this statute

(not quoted above). He misreads the sentence. The sentence applies to the death of the tortfeasor, not the victim, and, as such, is inapplicable.

9The Medinas urge this court to consider Mr. Cisneros’ claims as personal injury actions, in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Wilson , 471 U.S. at 280. Unfortunately, Wilsonis of limited use for our purposes. In Wilson , the Supreme Court had to classify § 1983 claims for statute of limitation purposes. Id. at 262. The court determined the claims best fit the category of personal injury actions. Id. at 276. The court then looked to the various statute of limitations provisions in New Mexico law and applied the limitations period “for an injury to the person or reputation of any person.” Id. at 280 (quoting N.M. Stat. Ann. § 37-1-8).

-13- The New Mexico survival statute states, in part: In addition to the causes of action which survive at common law, causes of action for mesne profits, or for an injury to real or personal estate, or for any deceit or fraud, shall also surv ive, and the action may be brought, notwithstanding the death of the pe rson entitled or liable to the same. N.M. Stat. Ann. § 37-2-1. 8 Because Mr. Cisneros’ § 1983 claims are not in th e nature of any of the listed actions, we must look t o common law to see if they survive.

First, however, we must determine how to classify t he claims. The Supreme Court has determined § 1983 claims are anal ogous to tort, or personal injury, actions. See Wilson v. Garcia , 471 U.S. 261, 277 (1985). The district court considered the claims intentional torts for p urposes of determining survivability. 9 We agree with this analogy. The actions underlyi ng a § 1983The universe of personal injury actions includes negligence-based torts and

intentional torts. See Maestas v. Overton , 526 P.2d 203, 204 (N.M. Ct. App. 1974) (“New Mexico recognizes interspousal immunity for nonintentional personal injury actions.”), rev’d on other grounds , 531 P.2d 947 (N.M. 1975); Owens v. Okure , 488 U.S. 235, 236 (1989) (considering question arising “where a State has one or more statutes of limitations for certain enumerated intentional torts, and a residual statute for all other personal injury actions”). The Supreme Court did not have occasion in Wilsontoconsider whether § 1983 claims were more closely analogous to the intent- or negligencebased subcategories of personal injury actions because that distinction did not make a difference to the result – the statute of limitations provisions in New Mexico law do not provide for different limitations periods for intentional- and negligence-based personal injury actions. See N.M. St. Ann. §§ 37-1-1 to 37-1-30. The Supreme Court was faced with this question in Owens , a case not raised by the Medinas. Owens , 488 U.S. at 236. In Owens , the Court determined that § 1983 claims should not be treated as intentional torts for statute of limitations purposes. Id. at 249-50. However, in reaching this decision the Court expressed the importance of establishing a simple standard in light of the “multiplicity of state intentional tort statutes of limitations” and the “wide spectrum of claims which § 1983 has come to span.” Id. at 248-50. A similar concern does not exist in the survivability context because there is no comparable multiplicity of options. In this case, we are faced only with the question of whether the claim should fall into one of two categories – negligence-based torts that are exempt from the nonsurvival rule or intentional-based torts that are subject to the nonsurvival rule – and we are presented with a claim (improper seizure) that is clearly analogous to common-law intentional torts. For these reasons, we do not believe the Owensstatute of limitations analysis controls our analysis here.

-14- claim do not have to be intentional ( e.g. , driving a police car in a chase with reckless indifference and injuring a bystander or r ecklessly seizing the wrong person pursuant to a warrant). Section 1983 claims based on unintentional actions would be most closely analogous to negligence-based torts for survivability purposes. The actions alleged to be in violation o f § 1983 in this case, however, were intentional: the removal and transportation o f the children. Therefore, the10The district court noted the question of whether an intentional tort survives the

unrelated death of a plaintiff is one of first impression in New Mexico. As such, the district court, and this court, must attempt to resolve the issue as the New Mexico Supreme Court would. See Armijo v. Ex Cam, Inc. , 843 F.2d 406, 407 (10th Cir. 1988).

-15- closest analogy would be to intent-based torts.

At common law, torts did not survive the death of t he victim. See Rodgers v. Ferguson , 556 P.2d 844, 846-48 (N.M. Ct. App. 1976). The N ew Mexico Court of Appeals, however, has decided that a damag e claim based on personal injuries due to negligence should survive the victi m’s death. Id. at 849-50. We must decide, then, if the New Mexico courts would p lace the claims in this case into the general category that do not survive underthe common law, or into the category already carved out by the courts that do s urvive. 10

The district court distinguished Mr. Cisneros’ § 19 83 claims from those carved out in Rodgers based on their intentional nature. The court corr ectly noted the foundation of the underlying claim in negligenc e was a decisive aspect of the Rodgers decision. Rodgers , 556 P.2d at 846-48 (distinguishing cases involvin g “serious intentional wrongs”). Indeed, the court i n Rodgers stated: “The rule that a claim for personal injury does not survive the de ath of the victim is not applicable to conditions in New Mexico because the tort of negligence did not11 In Padilla v. Estate of Griego , 830 P.2d 1348 (N.M. Ct. App. 1992), the New

Mexico Court of Appeals decided, under a different procedural footing, not to distinguish between the survivability of torts based in negligence and those based in intent. However, that case was based on statutory interpretation of the last sentence of § 37-2-1 (dealing with death of tortfeasor, not victim), not common law principles. Id. at 1352 (“We see no reason why the legislature would wish to permit a claim for injuries caused by negligence to survive the death of the tortfeasor while not permitting survival of a claim for compensatory damages arising from an [intentional tort].”). This distinction causes us to doubt whether the logic would extend to the situation in this case. Because this case is based on a reading of New Mexico common law, we think the language in Rodgersproviding for survival of negligence-based claims controlling.

12The Supreme Court has already rejected the types of arguments made by the Medinas: That a federal remedy should be available, however, does not mean that a § 1983 plaintiff (or his representative) must be allowed to continue an -16- exist when the rule developed.” Id. at 848. Given the emphasis the state court placed on the element of negligence in deciding Rodgers , we agree with the district court that the New Mexico Supreme Court pr obably would decide this case differently. 11

The Medinas argue, if this court finds the claims w ould not survive under New Mexico law, as we now have, the court should no t apply state law because it would fail to effectuate the goals of § 1983. They argue the operation of New Mexico survival law deprives Mr. Cisneros’ estate o f a proper claim, and deprives § 1983 of its full deterrent effect. Obviously, § 1983 claims can fail to survive or we would not bother looking to state law. 12 See Pietrowski v. Town of Dibble ,action in disregard of the state law to which § 1988 refers us. A state

statute cannot be considered “inconsistent” with federal law merely because the statute causes the plaintiff to lose the litigation. If success of the § 1983 action were the only benchmark, there would be no reason at all to look to state law, for the appropriate rule would then always be the one favoring the plaintiff, and its source would be essentially irrelevant. Robertson , 436 U.S. 593.

13 The Medinas cite exclusively to Berry v. City of Muskogee, Oklahoma , 900 F.2d 1489 (10th Cir. 1990), in the section of their brief devoted to this argument. That case differs significantly, however, because the challenged action was directly related to the death of the plaintiff. Id. at 1502.

-17- 134 F.3d 1006, 1008-09 (10th Cir. 1998) (holding § 1983 malicious prosecution claim abates after death of defendant, giving defer ence to state statute). In addition, this ruling should have no effect on the deterrent value of § 1983, because Mr. Cisneros’ death was unrelated to the ac tions of the defendants. It is hard to believe state officials will violate the co nstitutional rights of New Mexico’s citizens with impunity in the hopes that t he citizens will die before filing suit. 13

For the above reasons, we affirm the district court ’s dismissal of Mr. Cisneros’ claims.

Exclusion of the Notice of Termination and Offense/ Incident Report-18-

Prior to trial, the defendants filed two motions in limine, pursuant to Federal Rules of Evidence 401, 402, and 403, seekin g to prevent the Medinas from introducing Tort Claims Notices against the po lice department, testimony from several witnesses concerning prior incidences of alleged misconduct by the officers, and evidence related to Officer Pacheco’s subsequent, unrelated termination from the police department. The distri ct court granted the motions. “We review a district court’s exclusion of evidence for an abuse of discretion. In reviewing a court’s determination for abuse of disc retion, we will not disturb the determination absent a distinct showing it was base d on a clearly erroneous finding of fact or an erroneous conclusion of law o r manifests a clear error of judgment.” Cartier v. Jackson , 59 F.3d 1046, 1048 (10th Cir. 1995).

The Medinas argue the Tort Claims Notices and the w itness testimony regarding other instances of alleged misconduct wou ld have been relevant to the question of supervisory liability. The district co urt excluded the Tort Claims Notices and the witness testimony, finding such evi dence to be insufficiently similar to the claims being tried. The court has r eviewed the Tort Claims Notices and the Medinas’ explanation to the district court of the witness testimony. We cannot find that the court’s decision manifests a c lear error of judgment or was based on a clearly erroneous finding of fact or an erroneous conclusion of law.14In his discussion of this specific point, as in many places throughout his brief,

counsel for the Medinas miscited to the record. Specifically, he directed this court to a point in the record where he asked the district court to reconsider its decision, rather than to the point where the district court made its initial ruling.

-19- The incidents in question were in no way related to how officers should act when confronted with a family dispute over which househo ld should have custody of children. Furthermore, the incidents do not relate to the proper type of training required for police officers who might find themsel ves in such a situation. We suspect the evidence was intended to damage the ima ge of the defendants and we find the district court did not abuse its discretio n in excluding it.

The Medinas suggest the evidence related to OfficerPacheco’s subsequent, unrelated termination from the police department wo uld have shown Officer Pacheco tended to lie, rather than accept responsib ility for his actions. The district court granted the motion in limine, findin g the termination not to be relevant to what happened three years earlier in a totally unrelated matter. 14

The Medinas argue on appeal the district court’s ru ling was contrary to Rule 608(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence and th ey should have been allowed to refer to these materials in their cross-examinat ion of the officer. Rule 608(b) provides: “Specific instances of the conduct of a witness ... may, ... in the-20-

discretion of the court, if probative of truthfulne ss or untruthfulness, be inquired into on cross-examination of the witness ....” Fed . R. Evid. 608(b). One key aspect of this rule is that its application is expl icitly within the discretion of the district court. The advisory committee notes to th e rule warn courts “[e]ffective cross-examination demands that some allowance be ma de for going into matters of this kind, but the possibilities of abuse are su bstantial.” Id. advisory committee notes. Consequently, the note says, courts need to employ safeguards, including disallowing the use of instances that are remote in time. Id. Furthermore, the note acknowledges the overriding p rotections of Rule 403 still apply. Id.

This court has reviewed the documents excluded by t he district court and cannot find any significant evidence that would be probative of Officer Pacheco’s truthfulness or untruthfulness. The only item thatcomes close to being probative is the officer’s questionable answers on a claim fo rm for unemployment payments. We agree with the district court, howeve r, that evidence of this relatively minor incident was not sufficiently prob ative of Officer Pacheco’s credibility concerning the claims at issue and thus should not have been allowed. The district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding this evidence.-21-

The Medinas also contend the cumulative effect of t he errors they appeal unduly prejudiced their case. As we have found no errors, there can be no compound effect.

Accordingly, we AFFIRM the disposition below.

Entered by the Court: WADE BRORBY United States Circuit Judge