Opinion ID: 702362
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Exclusion of the FAA Reports

Text: 19 The Benedicts argue that the court erred in excluding reports of FAA investigations of Thien, which indicate that Thien did not perform his duties as pilot logbook keeper accurately and allege that he intentionally falsified some logbook entries. The Benedicts contend that these reports indicate general sloppiness or deceptiveness in Mid-Plains' record keeping, and thus that they should have been admitted to show the untrustworthiness of the payroll records discussed in part A, supra. 20 The records deemed unreliable by the FAA are unrelated to the records the Benedicts seek to challenge. The Benedicts seek to challenge payroll records kept by Guichot and Seabolt; the FAA reports concern flight log records kept by Thien. The Benedicts argue that the FAA reports showing that a single flight log kept by Thien was inaccurate 5 should have been admitted to show that all Mid-Plains records were inaccurate. 21 Under Rule 401 of the Federal Rules of Evidence,  '[r]elevant evidence' means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. Fed.R.Evid. 401. However, under Rule 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, [a]lthough relevant, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence. Fed.R.Evid. 403. 22 The FAA reports are evidence of only marginal probativity in this case. They concern allegations of intentional falsification of airman's logs relevant to the safety of Mid-Plains' flights, and relate to this case only as regards the possible cause of the accident in which Benedict died, and whether Thien may have been at fault. The Benedicts argue that the falsification of the airman's logs is relevant to show the untrustworthiness of Mid-Plains' and Thien's record keeping as a whole, and as extrinsic evidence contradicting Seabolt's testimony that the payroll records were accurate. This attenuated relevance is not sufficient to outweigh the unfair prejudice, confusion, and waste of time likely to result from the admission of this evidence. Thien's alleged falsification of airman's logs has no direct bearing on the accuracy of payroll records and this evidence does not contradict Seabolt's testimony that she kept the payroll records accurately in the ordinary course of business. See United States v. Lopez, 979 F.2d 1024, 1034 (5th Cir.1992) (extrinsic evidence is material if it contradicts witness's account of a material transaction which he would not have been mistaken about if his story were true), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 2349, 124 L.Ed.2d 258 (1993). 23  'Unfair prejudice' [under Rule 403] means an undue tendency to suggest decision on an improper basis, commonly, though not necessarily, an emotional one. Confusion of the issues warrants exclusion of relevant evidence if admission of the evidence would lead to litigation of collateral issues. United States v. Dennis, 625 F.2d 782, 796-97 (8th Cir.1980) (internal quotations omitted); see Lopez, 979 F.2d at 1034 (material extrinsic evidence subject to exclusion if prejudice outweighs probativity). The evidence the Benedicts seek to admit presents a strong likelihood of unfair prejudice: the issue before the jury was whether the potential liability of Thien and Lund was covered by insurance, not whether they were in fact liable in any way for Benedict's death. The sole question underlying the issue was whether Benedict was an employee acting in the scope of his employment when he died. The documentary and testimonial evidence resulting from the FAA investigation of Thien is directly related to Thien's possible fault in the crash, and very likely would cause a jury to feel hostility toward Thien, contributing to a verdict based not on the evidence regarding Benedict's employment status, but on Thien's fault in the crash. Further, the FAA investigation pertains directly to a collateral issue in this case: Was Thien liable for Benedict's death? Admission of FAA evidence would lead to extended, and irrelevant, litigation of the question of Thien's liability, and thus would confuse the jury and waste their time and the court's. We therefore find that the FAA evidence was properly excluded under Rule 403, because the likelihood of unfair prejudice, confusion, and waste of time outweighs the probativity of that evidence. 24 Moreover, admission of this evidence to show the general untrustworthiness of Mid-Plains' and Thien's record keeping is in violation of Rule 404(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence: 25 Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident.... 26 Under this rule, the evidence is not admissible to show, by implication from the falsification of airman's logs, that the payroll records were also false. The Benedicts, however, argue that the FAA evidence is admissible under Rule 404(b) as proof of Thien's motive to falsify the payroll records. They contend that the fact that Thien was under investigation by the FAA gave him a motive to falsely claim that Benedict was an employee at the time of the crash, because FAA regulations forbid the presence of nonemployees on single-engine planes under the weather conditions at the time of the crash. 27 Admissibility under Rule 404(b) is contingent upon admissibility under Rule 403, discussed supra. The determination must be made whether the danger of undue prejudice outweighs the probative value of the evidence in view of the availability of other means of proof and other factors appropriate for making decisions of this kind under Rule 403. Fed.R.Evid. 404(b) advisory committee's notes; see United States v. Peltier, 585 F.2d 314, 321 (8th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 945, 99 S.Ct. 1422, 59 L.Ed.2d 634 (1979). We have determined that the danger of undue prejudice resulting from this evidence outweighs the probative value of the evidence, and it is no more admissible under Rule 404(b) than it is under Rule 403. 28 The Benedicts' theory regarding motive was also adequately presented to the jury without the introduction of the prejudicial evidence. Regardless of whether Thien was under investigation by the FAA, it would be a violation of FAA regulations for a nonemployee to have been on the flight, and the Benedicts argued that this provided Thien with a motive to falsify Benedict's employment status. 6 We find that the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the FAA evidence under Rule 404(b). 29 Finally, the Benedicts argue that the FAA evidence should have been admitted as evidence of Thien's untruthful character under Rule 608(b). Rule 608(b), in part, states that: 30 Specific instances of the conduct of a witness, for the purpose of attacking or supporting the witness' credibility, other than conviction of crime as provided in rule 609, may not be proved by extrinsic evidence. They may, however, in the discretion of the court, if probative of truthfulness or untruthfulness, be inquired into on cross-examination of the witness (1) concerning the witness' character for truthfulness or untruthfulness, or (2) concerning the character for truthfulness or untruthfulness of another witness as to which character the witness being cross-examined has testified. 31 The FAA allegations that Thien falsified the airman's logs may be probative of Thien's truthfulness or untruthfulness, but the decision whether to admit this evidence on cross-examination is within the discretion of the district court, and is subject to the limitations of Rule 403. See Fed.R.Evid. 608(b) advisory committee's notes. We have determined that the prejudicial impact of this evidence outweighs its probativity, and this determination holds true for the probativity of the FAA allegations as regards Thien's truthfulness or untruthfulness. We note that, although this evidence can be characterized as probative of Thien's untruthfulness, it is far more pertinent to the question of Thien's possible fault in the crash. The unfair prejudice and jury confusion likely to result from the introduction of this evidence far outweighs its minor probativity to Thien's general character for untruthfulness. 32 We, therefore, find that the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the documentary and testimonial evidence resulting from the FAA's investigation of Mid-Plains' safety procedures.