Opinion ID: 663117
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Testimony of Nick Mathews

Text: 21 On cross-examination, government witness Sam Musillami testified that Mathews owed Avery money, and that Avery told Mathews to pay Musillami. Musillami further testified that he did not recall if Mathews had paid him $3,000. Counsel for appellant Brennan sought to have Mathews testify that he did in fact pay Musillami $3,000 on his debt to Avery. Assuming that this does in fact contradict Musillami's testimony, a debatable point at best, the district court nonetheless ruled that this was a collateral matter and refused to allow the testimony. Both at the trial and now on appeal the one and only reason appellants offer to justify bringing this testimony in is to directly contradict[ ] Musillami's testimony for the government. (Appellants cons. brief at 15). They offer no explanation why the payment of this money would be admissible aside from contradiction. We believe this testimony to be wholly irrelevant to the issues in the trial. The trial did not involve a contract dispute between Mathews and Musillami, rather a drug conspiracy. The testimony does nothing to make the existence of any material fact more or less probable. Fed.R.Evid. 401. For these reasons we hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in deciding that the matter was collateral. 22