Opinion ID: 151405
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Admissibility of Kaplan's 1994 Statement

Text: After Kaplan had testified and described relaying information received from Caracappa and Eppolito to Casso and relaying to them instructions and payments from Casso, and after defendants had cross-examined Kaplan at length, challenging the veracity of that testimony, the government was allowed to call Burstein as a witness to testify that Kaplan told him in 1994 that Kaplan had been the conduit between Caracappa/Eppolito and Casso. Caracappa contends principally that the Burstein testimony was inadmissible hearsay and that, in any event, it should have been excluded because defendants had not received advance notice of the 1994 statement by Kaplan and thus could not cross-examine Kaplan with respect to that statement. These contentions have no merit. The Federal Rules of Evidence specify the circumstances in which a prior statement by a witness is to be considered nonhearsay. Rule 801(d) provides, in pertinent part, that [a] statement is not hearsay if . . . . [t]he declarant testifies at the trial or hearing and is subject to cross-examination concerning the statement, and the statement is . . . consistent with the declarant's testimony and is offered to rebut an express or implied charge against the declarant of recent fabrication or improper influence or motive . . . . Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(1)(B) (emphases added). In addition to these stated preconditions, there is imbedded in the Rule a temporal limitation that permits the introduction of a declarant's consistent out-ofcourt statements to rebut a charge of recent fabrication or improper influence or motive only when those statements were made before the charged recent fabrication or improper influence or motive. Tome v. United States, 513 U.S. 150, 159, 167, 115 S.Ct. 696, 130 L.Ed.2d 574 (1995); see, e.g., United States v. Al-Moayad, 545 F.3d 139, 167 (2d Cir.2008); United States v. Forrester, 60 F.3d 52, 64 (2d Cir.1995); United States v. Quinto, 582 F.2d 224, 232-33 (2d Cir.1978). To come within Rule 801(d)(1)(B), the prior consistent statement need not be proffered through the testimony of the declarant but may be proffered through any witness who has firsthand knowledge of the statement. See, e.g., United States v. McGrath, 558 F.2d 1102, 1107 (2d Cir.1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1064, 98 S.Ct. 1239, 55 L.Ed.2d 765 (1978); 30B M. Graham, Federal Practice & Procedure § 7012, at 162 (Interim ed. 2006) (Graham). Further, where the declarant has already testified and the prior consistent statement is proffered through the testimony of another witness, the Rule's subject to cross-examination requirement is satisfied if the opposing party is not denied the opportunity to recall the declarant to the stand for cross-examination concerning the statement. See, e.g., United States v. Piva, 870 F.2d 753, 758 (1st Cir.1989); Graham § 7012, at 162-63. We review the district court's decision to admit a statement into evidence under Rule 801(d)(1)(B) for abuse of discretion. See United States v. Burden, 600 F.3d 204, 229 (2d Cir.2010), petition for cert. filed, No. 10-5153 (U.S. June 29, 2010); United States v. McGrath, 558 F.2d at 1107. We see no abuse of discretion here. At trial, much of the cross-examination conducted by defendants was directed toward their statute-of-limitations defense, which asserted that after Caracappa and Eppolito retired from NYPD and moved to Las Vegas, their RICO conspiracy with Kaplan ended, and that the present prosecution for their activities in New York was untimely. But defendants also aggressively challenged the truth of Kaplan's testimony as to the criminal activities of Caracappa and Eppolito while they were NYPD detectives, questioning him at length about his cooperation agreement with the government and his anticipated gain from testifying against Caracappa and Eppolito, and repeatedly asking whether his testimony wasn't being given in the hope that the government would appreciate his assistance and would move to reduce his sentence. The district court found that defendants ha[d] insinuated, directly and indirectly during the opening and during the cross-examination that [Kaplan's] motive to lie arose from his desire to be released from prison (Tr. 1218), and it construed that line of questioning as a charge that Kaplan's testimony was being given for an improper motive ( see id. at 1213-16). Although defendants contended that the temporal aspect of Rule 801(d)(1)(B) was not satisfied, arguing that Kaplan had a motive to fabricate from the moment he learned that Casso had been arrested, the district court rejected that contention. Pointing out that Kaplan was not in prison in 1994 when Casso attempted to cooperate ( id. at 1218), the court stated that [f]or [defendants'] theory to hold, Kaplan must have believed in 1994 that he [Kaplan] would eventually cooperate with the government, hoping that his testimony against the defendants would be called into question and knowing that if he told Mr. Burstein of his involvement, his account would have increased merit. That sequence of events, which is farfetched on it[]s face, is undercut by what actually happened in 1994 when Casso cooperated. Far from running to the government to cooperate, Kaplan went on the lam for approximately two years, returning only after he learned that Casso could not be used as a government witness ( id. at 1217-18). The court ruled that the preconditions of Rule 801(d)(1)(B) were satisfied and that Burstein would be allowed to testify to Kaplan's 1994 statement. ( See id. at 1216-17; see also id. at 1208, 1218 (not allowing Burstein to testify to a 1996 statement Kaplan made to him after being arrested).) In response to defendants' complaint that, had they known of the 1994 statement in advance they could have cross-examined Kaplan on that statement, the court stated, You can recall him if you like. ( Id. at 1213.) Having reviewed the record, we see no error in the district court's findings that defendants had expressly or impliedly suggested that Kaplan's testimony was fabricated because of his desire to get out of prison. Nor do we see any error in the court's finding that Kaplan's 1994 statement to Burstein, made while Kaplan was on the lam and some two years before he was arrested, was made before Kaplan had a motive to fabricate. The record also amply shows that defendants could have cross-examined Kaplan on that statement. First, the court expressly stated that it would allow them to recall Kaplan as a witness. Second, the record shows that the 3500 material produced to defendants prior to Kaplan's cross-examination, see 18 U.S.C. § 3500; Fed.R.Crim.P. 26.2, included an investigative report stating that Burstein, Kaplan's attorney, told Kaplan in March 1994 that Casso had become a government witness, and that thereafter, after a newspaper article appeared naming EPPOLITO and CARACAPPA as the two hit men in the Ed die LINO homicide, KAPLAN told his attorney, in sum and substance that he had been the intermediary between EPPOLITO, CARACAPPA and CASSO (Government Exhibit 3500-BK-21 at 108-09). Thus, defendants had in fact been informed of Kaplan's 1994 statement prior to trial and could have cross-examined Kaplan on it before Burstein testified. Finally, although Caracappa also contends that the government in summation improperly used Burstein's testimony to bolster that of Kaplan, rather than using it solely to counter the suggestion that Kaplan's testimony was motivated by an improper purpose, we see no misuse by the government. Prior consistent statements that are admissible under Rule 801(d)(1)(B) are substantive evidence. The prior statement is consistent with the testimony given on the stand, and, if the opposite party wishes to open the door for its admission in evidence, no sound reason is apparent why it should not be received generally. Fed.R.Evid. 801 Advisory Committee Note (1972); see, e.g., United States v. Brennan, 798 F.2d 581, 587 (2d Cir.1986) (Statements admitted under Rule 801(d) are not hearsay and therefore are admissible as substantive evidence.).