Opinion ID: 161910
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Several Instances of Misconduct

Text: 35 The Caballeros point to an assortment of other examples of discovery violations, elicited testimony contrary to pretrial rulings, and posed inflammatory questions that they claim amount to a pattern of prosecutorial misconduct. Aplt. Br. at 90-91. We engage in a two-step process in reviewing claims of prosecutorial misconduct. First, we determine if the conduct was improper. Second, we determine if any improper conduct warrants reversal. United States v. Gordon, 173 F.3d 761, 769 (10th Cir.) (citation omitted), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 886 (1999). To warrant reversal, prosecutorial misconduct must be of sufficient significance to result in the denial of the defendant's right to a fair trial before it will rise to the level of a due process violation. Greer, 483 U.S. at 765 (citation omitted). The offending action must be placed in the context of the whole trial, and not viewed in isolation. Id. at 766. An allegation of prosecutorial misconduct presents a mixed question of fact and law that we review de novo. Gabaldon, 91 F.3d at 94. 36 The Caballeros claim prosecutorial misconduct where, several months before trial, the government provided the defense with a recording of a conversation between Mr. Caballero and then-undercover FBI agent Carlos Villar. On the eve of trial, the prosecutors gave the defense a revised transcript and apprised them of the changes. Upon reviewing the revisions, defense counsel objected to the admission of the recording and the transcript, claiming, the newer version supplied text of the conversationportions of it incriminating according to the defensein parts where the earlier version had indicated only unintelligible dialogue. The objections were properly overruled and the conduct complained of did not constitute misconduct. 37 Even assuming misconduct, we find that the eleventh hour additions to the transcript did not prejudice the Caballeros. First, the Caballeros do not allege inaccuracies in the revised transcript, only that they were unfairly surprised by the late additions. As to the unfair surprise, the Caballeros possessed the actual recording several months in advance of trial, during which they could have generated their own transcript. Further, the court clearly instructed the jury that the tape, not the transcripts, constituted the actual evidence and the defense aired their concerns about the revisions during the voir dire and cross-examination of agent Villar. Perhaps most importantly, the Caballeros never specifically identify which changes caught them unprepared or how such changes prejudiced the jury. They cite [n]umerous passages...[that] now attributed potentially incriminating statements to Leonardo and that [o]ther incriminating comments...were now attributed to Leonardo, Aplt. Br. at 92, without directing us to precise statements. In summary, we find that revising the transcript did not prejudice the defendants. 38 Second, the Caballeros see prosecutorial misconduct in the late production of documents relating to the testimony of government witnesses Speirs and Kocak. In the first instance, the prosecution sought admission of an INS computer printout supporting Speirs's proposed testimony that the Caballeros provided clients with false identification numbers. The second instance involved documents that showed the INS never employed the Caballeros, intended to be used in conjunction with Kocak's testimony. However, the district court never admitted these documents into evidence, excluding Speirs's testimony and refusing to admit the documents related to Kocak's testimony. 39 In examining claims of prosecutorial misconduct, reversal is required only if the improper conduct influenced the verdict. Gordon, 173 F.3d at 769. Thus, [a]bsent a showing of prejudice to the defendant, prosecutorial misconduct alone will not support a finding that the trial court abused its discretion. United States v. Maynard, 236 F.3d 601, 606 (10th Cir. 2000) (internal citations omitted). Because the report and documents never reached the jury, we find that regardless of any misconduct, the Caballeros could not have been prejudiced. 40 Next, defendants cite the prosecutor's questions regarding their vehicles, jewelry, and boat as evidence that the government tried to circumvent a court prohibition against lifestyle evidence. The inquiry concerning the type of vehicles driven by the defendants came before any clear ruling on the admissibility of lifestyle evidence and so no misconduct can be ascribed to the government regarding that question. Similarly, the question regarding the source of the funds to purchase a boat came on cross-examination after the court had approved lifestyle questions on cross-examination, and so again, we find no misconduct. Finally, the question regarding jewelry elicited a response that indeed, Mr. Caballero was wearing a lot of jewelry. Neither the defense objection to the question nor the court ruling sustaining it referred to any prohibition of lifestyle evidence. Even if this was indeed a reference to prohibited lifestyle evidence, we find it to be de minimis, and that this single remark could not have prejudiced the defendants. Maynard, 236 F.3d at 606. 41 The defendants also contend that the prosecutors elicited victim-impact testimony despite the court's prohibition against such evidence. In the capital sentencing context, victim-impact testimony is designed to show each victim's uniqueness as a human being and enable a jury make a reasoned, moral response to a defendant's conduct. Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808, 823-27 (1991); United States v. McVeigh, 153 F.3d 1166, 1216-1222 (10th Cir. 1998). Although victim-impact testimony is usually associated with punishment, the Supreme Court has recognized that some victim-impact testimony is relevant during the guilt phase of a trial because it pertains to what actually occurred. Payne, 501 U.S. at 823, at 840 (Souter, J., concurring). We think the questions at issue are of the latter category. The district court's ruling on this issue allowed such testimony subject to proper foundation, and the district court invited contemporaneous objection: Feel free to make an objection if you believe they are getting into areas that are purely speculative and are not helpful to the jury and that you believe are prejudicial. XIV R. 346. The court sustained contemporaneous objections and the questions went unanswered. We find no misconduct and no prejudice to the defendants. 42 Finally, the Caballeros list an assortment of allegedly improper prosecutorial questions. First, the government asked a law enforcement officer whether Feliciano Silva was involved in a scheme together with Mr. Caballero and whether Silva was a kingpin in the scheme. The district court sustained an objection that the question went to the ultimate issue for the jury. Applying the first prong of the test for prosecutorial misconduct, we see no impropriety in this questioning. Gordon, 173 F.3d at 769. The district court's ruling notwithstanding, testimony regarding Mr. Caballero's involvement in illegal activity, though it may be an opinion that embraces an ultimate issue to be determined by the trier of fact, is admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 704. United States v. McSwain, 197 F.3d 472, 483 (10th Cir. 1999) (citation omitted). Since it was certainly arguable that the questions were appropriate, we find no evidence of misconduct. Applying the second prong, the questions went unanswered and therefore caused no prejudice to the Caballeros. Gordon, 173 F.3d at 769. 43 Finally, after the defense asked one witness whether Mr. Silva was a con man, the witness replied that [b]oth of them are. XIII R. at 305. The prosecutor clarified the statement on redirect and the witness agreed that both Silva and Mr. Caballero were con men. In the context of the defense's earlier question, this was an invited response, and we find no prosecutorial misconduct in attempting to clarify the witness's answer. See United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 11 (1985).