Opinion ID: 391067
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Remaining Evidentiary Challenges.

Text: 35 Because this case must be remanded for a new trial, we will address the remaining issues raised on this appeal in the hope of shedding some light on issues likely to recur. See United States v. Greenfield, supra, 554 F.2d 179, 184 (5th Cir.1977). 36 1. The testimony of Lorraine Smith. 37 As with the testimony of Hayla Carr, Guerrero asserts that the whole of Lorraine Smith's testimony should have been excluded as inadmissible extrinsic act evidence violative of Fed.R.Ev. 404(b) and the standards set out in Beechum. We do not find merit in this contention. 38 Smith, a former secretary-receptionist in the defendant's office, testified that on one occasion Guerrero had instructed her to make up false medical charts for nonexistent patients on which were recorded prescriptions actually issued to a single individual, and that Dr. Guerrero had freely admitted to her on two or three occasions that he was prescribing controlled substances to patients for other than legitimate medical reasons, such as to help a prostitute to get free of her pimp or because it was better for the addict in question to get drugs from him than on the street. She also testified that Guerrero had prescribed controlled substances in exchange for items of merchandise including a stereo, a gun, and some suits, and that Guerrero had consulted her as to the barter value of these items in pills. 39 This extrinsic act evidence comports with the requirements of United States v. Beechum, supra. It is relevant to the issue of Guerrero's unlawful intent in that it shows extrinsic acts, substantially similar to the charged offenses, which require the same state of mind as the offenses charged in the indictment. Further, it tends to show an ongoing practice of unlawful dispensation and is thus relevant to show a common scheme or plan. Smith's testimony contains evidence from which it could be inferred that these extrinsic acts were outside the usual course of professional practice for legitimate medical reasons. See United States v. Rogers, 609 F.2d 834, 839-40 (5th Cir.1980). See also United States v. Beechum, supra, 582 F.2d at 911-13 & n. 15, 916. 40 Nor can we say, from our examination of the record that the trial court abused its discretion in determining that the probative value of this evidence was not substantially outweighed by its potential for unfair prejudice. See United States v. Beechum, supra, 582 F.2d at 913-15, 916-17. There can be little question that the issue of intent was clearly drawn in this case in prosecutions for illegitimate medical dispensation, unlawful intent is often the crucial issue that separates lawful from unlawful activity and that extrinsic act evidence was an essential part of the government's proof. The extrinsic acts described in Smith's testimony were contemporaneous with the acts covered in the indictment. There was substantial similarity in legally significant respects between the extrinsic acts and the charged offenses. See id. at 917. 41 We need not here determine whether the absence of a limiting instruction on the use of extrinsic act evidence is in itself sufficient to warrant reversal. We do, however, commend to the district court on remand a consideration of the possible efficacy of such instructions in alleviating the potential for prejudice inherent in such evidence. See id. at 917 & n. 23. 42 2. The testimony of Gwen Durrenberger. 43 Gwen Durrenberger testified that she had received an inquiry from Houston pharmacist Fred Lunsford in February of 1979 concerning prescriptions written by Dr. Guerrero for Quaalude and Desoxyn. Over Guerrero's objection, Durrenberger stated that she had told Lunsford that the substances prescribed were abused drugs, and that Dr. Guerrero was then under investigation. R.III: 161-62. 44 Guerrero contends that this portion of Durrenberger's testimony exceeded the restrictions imposed by the trial court in denying the motion in limine and thus constituted extrinsic act evidence inadmissible under Fed.R.Ev. 404(b). 45 On this appeal, Guerrero does not challenge the trial court's initial denial of his motion with regard to Durrenberger, nor raise any objection to the testimony of the three other witnesses (Coger, Harvey, and Sortore) who gave evidence relating to the prior investigation into his name and licensing status. We therefore limit our consideration to the matters discussed below. In so doing, however, we do not intend to intimate that this evidence concerning only prior investigations and inquiries relating to Guerrero's use of the patronymic Guerrero rather than the formal designation appearing on his license (which combined the hyphenated surnames of his father and mother, as it is the custom to do in his homeland) must be found relevant or admissible under the standards set out in United States v. Beechum, surpa; nor do we intend to foreclose the district court from reconsidering on remand its initial ruling that such evidence meets the Beechum test for admissibility. 46 In denying Guerrero's motion in limine to bar such extrinsic evidence with regard to Durrenberger, the trial court expressly limited her testimony to the fact that she had conducted an investigation into Dr. Guerrero's true name and licensing status in response to inquiries from local pharmacists, and to the results of that investigation. A careful reading of the trial transcript discloses that the challenged testimony does indeed exceed the scope of that ruling. 47 Durrenberger testified that her investigation into Dr. Guerrero's name and licensing status commenced in response to an inquiry made by pharmacist Jerald Coger in early June of 1978. She stated that she determined at that time that no medical license had been issued in the name Luis E. Guerrero, and that she had so informed Coger. R.III: 149-52, 153. She then testified that she had received another inquiry concerning Dr. Guerrero from the pharmacist at Blakey's Pharmacy in Houston later in that same month (June, 1978), to which she responded that Guerrero was not a licensed physician and advised the pharmacist to notify the police. R.III: 153-54. Following that testimony, Durrenberger was asked when she discovered that Guerrero was licensed under the name Luis E. Guerrero-Ramirez. She responded that during the police investigation following the arrest of the two people who brought the prescription into the pharmacy to be filled Dr. Guerrero was contacted and at that time gave his correct name. R.III: 154-57. 48 The clear reference in those statements is to the Blakey's Pharmacy incident, arising in June of 1978. Thus, although the exact date of the discovery of Dr. Guerrero's true licensing status is never brought out, it is clear that the discovery occurred during the course of a police investigation that was commenced in June of 1978. The objected-to Lunsford inquiry (where Durrenberger testified that she had told Lunsford that the substances prescribed were abused drugs and that Dr. Guerrero was under investigation) arose in February of 1979, some eight months after the inquiry that led to the discovery of Guerrero's true licensing status, and contemporaneously with the police investigation of Guerrero himself that ultimately led to his prosecution. It seems highly unlikely, therefore, that the testimony relating to the Lunsford inquiry had any thing at all to do with the investigation into Guerrero's name and licensing status, or that the investigation referred to in that testimony was the licensing investigation rather than the criminal investigation conducted by Officer Robert Burger. 49 Thus, it would appear that Durrenberger's testimony concerning the Lunsford inquiry does exceed the scope of the trial court's ruling on Guerrero's motion in limine. Indeed, Durrenberger's somewhat confusing testimony may well have exceeded permissible bounds at several points. On this appeal, however, Guerrero challenges only two very specific statements: (1) That Durrenberger told Lunsford the prescribed substances were abused drugs, and (2) that Durrenberger told Lunsford Dr. Guerrero was then under investigation. 50 As to those statements, Guerrero contends that they exceeded the scope of the trial court's ruling on the motion in limine and thus were improperly admitted. We have no difficulty in agreeing with Dr. Guerrero's contention with regard to the second statement. That statement had nothing to do with Durrenberger's investigation into Guerrero's name and licensing status, and thus was effectively excluded by the trial court's ruling. Guerrero objected to the statement at trial on those very grounds. The district court's admission of the statement over that objection was therefore improper. The first of the challenged statements, however, was not objected to at trial on these grounds. Guerrero's sole objection was that a proper predicate had not been laid for Durrenberger's characterization of the prescribed medication as abused drugs. R.III: 161. Although a motion in limine will itself preserve error for the purposes of appeal in some circumstances, see e. g., Reyes v. Missouri Pac. R. R., 589 F.2d 791, 793 n.2 (5th Cir. 1979), we feel it was incumbent upon Guerrero to inform the trial court of the nature of his further objection in this instance. His failure to do so forecloses this challenge on appeal. See Fed.R.Ev. 103(a)(1). 51 We conclude, therefore, that Durrenberger's testimony concerning her remarks to pharmacist Lunsford about the then-ongoing investigation of Dr. Guerrero exceeded the scope of the trial court's ruling on the motion in limine, and thus was improperly admitted. Considering our earlier conclusion of reversibility with regard to the testimony of Hayla Carr, we need not now determine whether these statements prejudiced Guerrero's case. We merely point out this analysis to the district court, should these issues arise on retrial.