Opinion ID: 1744833
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: admission of summary charts

Text: Karras argues that he was denied due process of law when the trial court admitted summary charts prepared by the State into evidence. He asserts that the charts were misleading or unsupported by the evidence. Karras suggests that since no cautionary instruction was given to inform the jury that the charts were, in themselves, not evidence, he was convicted in a trial by chart. State introduced charts regarding both the bank deposit and percentage methods of analysis. The charts were received in evidence and taken into the jury room. Karras argues that the bank deposit charts were misleading because 1) cash payments of $28,569 to kitchen employees were not supported by the evidence, and 2) Sieler had counted transactions involving $10,500 in certificates of deposit and $4,000 in loans twice. We disagree. Sieler's estimates of cash payments to kitchen employees were based on detailed testimony of four of the employees, including Vien Nguyen, Karras' former kitchen manager. Nguyen testified that 60% of his pay was made by cash and that the others in the kitchen were also paid partly in cash. Three other employees testified that half of their pay was in cash. Sieler's extrapolation that 35% of the kitchen payroll was made by cash was, if anything, conservative, based on this record. We also reject Karras' arguments that charts illustrating the percentage method were unsupported by evidence or lacking in foundation. Testimony by Sieler and restaurant owner George Christopoulos concerning percentages of waste and cost of goods was challenged by Karras, but this only created questions for the jury to decide. Karras next complains that Exhibits 134 and 135 were improperly admitted. Karras claims that Exhibit 134 was never explained and was offered with Exhibit 135. The record indicates that these two exhibits were explained together. Exhibit 134 contained five sets of numbers: 1) Goods Purchased; 2) Average Cost of Goods; 3) Gross Receipts; 4) Under-reported Sales; and 5) Percent of Under-reporting. The first four items were explained in reference to Exhibit 135. The fifth, Percent of Under-reporting, was not. This is not enough to render Exhibit 134 inadmissible. Calculation of percentages is not an arcane mathematical concept and not every government calculation need be described in detail. See United States v. Citron, 783 F.2d 307 (2d Cir.1986). In addition, the analysis used in Exhibit 134 was clarified in jury instruction 12A. Evidentiary use of summary charts rests within the sound discretion of the trial court. United States v. Caswell, 825 F.2d 1228 (8th Cir.1987); United States v. King, 616 F.2d 1034 (8th Cir.1980). We find no abuse of discretion in admitting these exhibits. We next find that the allegation of double counting was a matter of conflicting expert testimony. Sieler and State's CPA, Brian Stuart, stood by their figures and Karras' CPA disagreed. The jury determines the accuracy of the numbers. Caswell, supra . Further, a claim of inaccuracy does not make summary charts inadmissible where the trial court is satisfied that the summaries are reasonably accurate and there is evidence to support them. King, supra . We conclude Karras' argument that he was prejudiced by the trial court's failure to give a cautionary instruction concerning the charts has not been preserved for appeal. At trial, he merely objected to the exhibits on foundational grounds and never requested or offered a proposed cautionary or guarding instruction. Similarly, on appeal, the issue was only given trivial, token argument. We conclude further that the failure to give a cautionary instruction, especially when reading all of the other instructions as a whole, does not rise to the level of plain error. State v. Dornbusch, 384 N.W.2d 682 (S.D.1986); State v. Sheridan, 383 N.W.2d 865 (S.D.1986); State v. Bunnell, 324 N.W.2d 418 (S.D.1982); State v. Brammer, 304 N.W.2d 111 (S.D.1981).