Opinion ID: 778482
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Severance of Eames and Rudisill

Text: 17 Eames and Rudisill claim that joinder with one another was manifestly prejudicial because it allowed the jury to hear evidence against each man that would not have been admitted had they been tried alone. See Zafiro v. United States, 506 U.S. 534, 539, 113 S.Ct. 933, 122 L.Ed.2d 317 (1993) (noting that severance might be appropriate when evidence that the jury should not consider against a defendant and that would not be admissible if a defendant were tried alone is admitted against a codefendant). In support of his claim, Eames points to the testimony of Rahim Rashada. According to Eames, Rashada's testimony on three points — (1) the Atlanta operation, (2) the theft of leads for Rudisill at an earlier job, and (3) Rudisill's statement to Rashada that Rudisill, Rashada, and Eames would be partners in AEA — would not have been admitted in a separate trial because Eames did not have any dealings with Rashada. Rudisill, on the other hand, cites to the testimony of Ms. Eames. According to Rudisill, testimony about the following private conversations between Eames and Ms. Eames would not have been admitted against him had he received a separate trial: (1) a conversation in which Eames told Ms. Eames not to worry about the indictment, because I'm the only one who knows all of the pieces of the puzzle and By the time this goes to trial, all of the witnesses will be dead; (2) a conversation in which Eames told Ms. Eames that he could not shut down the Atlanta office, despite complaints, because he would be unable to pay his personal bills if that office was shut down; (3) a conversation in which Eames referred to an undercover IRS agent as a possible fed; and (4) a conversation in which Eames referred to certain funds derived from Atlanta customers as blood money. 18 We find Eames' and Rudisill's claim unpersuasive. The spillover evidence on which each relies was not manifestly prejudicial because each piece of evidence either (1) would have been admitted in separate trials, (2) was inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, or (3) was rendered nonprejudicial through limiting instructions that Eames and Rudisill have not shown to be deficient. See Hanley, 190 F.3d at 1027. 19 The conspiracy charges against Eames, as well as the substantive charges stemming from the conspiracy, involved conduct that took place in the Atlanta office of AEA, as that office was the site of the fraudulent phone calls, the procurement of illicit funds, and the reinvestment of illicit funds for additional criminal activity. Thus, even though Rashada worked primarily with Rudisill in Atlanta, virtually all of Rashada's testimony was relevant to the case against Eames and would have been admissible in a separate trial. The single piece of testimony that Eames points to that might not have been admissible was Rashada's testimony about the theft of leads at an earlier job. However, this statement was cured by a limiting instruction from the district court, and Eames does not argue that the instruction was insufficient. 2 20 As to Rudisill, the district court provided limiting instructions for the first three conversations that he cites as objectionable, and he has not shown on appeal that these instructions were insufficient to cure any prejudice. 3 The district court did not provide a specific limiting instruction for the testimony involving the conversation about blood money. However, this vague testimony constituted but one minor piece of evidence in the course of a 17-week trial in which the government presented significant proof of Rudisill's guilt, including testimonial and documentary evidence showing that Rudisill helped originate the idea to sell to individuals, trained the sales staff in Atlanta how to reload customers, drafted the fraudulent front pitch, reviewed all the sales orders coming out of Atlanta, and transferred funds to and from the Phoenix office to fund the operation in Atlanta. Given these circumstances, admission of the blood money testimony did not render Rudisill's trial unfair. 4 21 Because the evidence presented at their joint trial either would have been admissible in separate trials, was sufficiently dealt with through limiting instructions, or was insignificant in the context of the overall case, we cannot say that Eames and Rudisill suffered manifest prejudice from being joined together. Thus, we decline to upset the district court's sound rulings on their motions to sever from one another.