Opinion ID: 205890
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Orr's Motion in Limine and Objection to Hearsay Evidence

Text: On June 20, 2008, Orr filed his Motion [in Limine] To Exclude Evidence of Burglary of Residence of Brayden Bergen. Therein, Orr sought to exclude evidence of the burglary of Mr. Brayden Bergen's house, asserting that Defendant is not a suspect of that burglary and presenting such evidence would be more prejudicial than its probative worth. This burglary ultimately produced the stolen X-box which Orr accepted from Nelson in exchange for crack cocaine. The district court denied Orr's motion, and Orr now asserts that the district court erred in doing so. A district court's denial of a motion in limine is reviewed only for abuse of discretion. United States v. Blaylock, 535 F.3d 922, 927-28 (8th Cir.2008). Essentially, Orr's motion in limine was predicated on the theory that any evidence pertaining to the burglary was irrelevant under Federal Rule of Evidence 401 or, alternatively, that its probative value was substantially outweighed by its unfair prejudice in violation of Federal Rule of Evidence 403. For its part, the government maintained that evidence of the burglary was relevant and admissible because it was offered merely to explain how law enforcement's attention initially settled on Orr. Because this is an arguably close question of evidence, we cannot conclude that the district court abused its discretion in allowing evidence of the burglary. Moreover, even assuming that the evidence was irrelevant or was otherwise inadmissible due to undue prejudice, this error was harmless. See United States v. Parish, 606 F.3d 480, 487 (8th Cir.2010) (Even if the district court erred in admitting the evidence, we will not reverse if the admission of the evidence was harmless.). As already stated, the jury heard ample evidence upon which to base its guilty verdict, and Orr cannot reasonably argue that, but for this evidentiary ruling, the trial's outcome might have differed.
Similarly, the trial court did not err in admitting evidence of the burglary through Deputy Whitaker's testimony. Because Orr did not object to the evidence's introduction at trial, we need only review the district court's admission of the testimony for plain error. United States v. Richardson, 537 F.3d 951, 959 (8th Cir. 2008). As we have observed, an out-of-court statement is not offered for the truth of the matter asserted, and is thus not hearsay, when it is offered merely to show why police began surveilling an area or following a criminal suspect. Parish, 606 F.3d at 487-88. The government offered Deputy Whitaker's testimony regarding the burglary only as background to explain why police initiated their investigation of Orr. Thus, the statement was not inadmissible hearsay because it was not offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted, i.e. that a house was in fact burglarized. Accordingly, the trial court did not plainly err in allowing Deputy Whitaker's testimony.