Opinion ID: 2754957
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Conspiracy Chart

Text: Throughout Okeayainneh’s trial, the government repeatedly referenced Exhibit 222: an organizational chart depicting the names and photographs of 20 people involved in the criminal activity at issue, including Okeayainneh and his co-defendants. The photographs were labeled with the roles each member purportedly played in the crime: “Foot Soldier,” “Bank Insider,” “Manager/Facilitator.” Okeayainneh’s photo was labeled “Leader/Organizer.” At the top of the chart appeared the word “Conspiracy” in capital letters. Exhibit 222 was introduced through the government’s first witness, Detective Louis Beauchane, one of the principal investigators in the case. Detective Beauchane identified individual photographs of the people depicted in the chart and testified about their purported roles in the conspiracy, and the government moved to admit Exhibit 222. After it was admitted and published to the jury, Okeayainneh’s trial counsel objected to the exhibit on the basis that it drew legal conclusions. The court ruled counsel’s objection was late, and the exhibit remained in evidence. Okeayainneh argues that the district court erred in admitting Exhibit 222 into evidence over his objection. The government responds that he did not preserve this issue for review because his objection at trial was untimely. To preserve an evidentiary issue for appellate review, a timely objection must be made. Fed. R. Evid. 103(a)(1). “The rule is well settled in this circuit that for an objection to be timely it must be made at the earliest possible opportunity after the ground of objection becomes apparent, or it will be considered waived.” Terrell v. Poland, 744 F.2d 637, 638–39 (8th Cir. 1984). In Terrell, we agreed that a motion to strike made after the close of all evidence was untimely. Id. at 639. Similarly, in McKnight ex. rel. Ludwig v. Johnson Controls, Inc., 36 F.3d 1396, 1407–08 (8th Cir. 1994), we held that the Federal Rules of Evidence require objections to be -11- “contemporaneous” and ruled that an objection made at the close of a witness’s testimony did not meet that requirement. In the case at hand, however, defense counsel did not wait until the end of Detective Beauchane’s testimony, nor until the close of all evidence. Instead, it appears from the record that counsel raised her objection mere moments after Exhibit 222 was introduced. There was still ample opportunity for the judge to prevent further potential damage. We conclude that Okeayainneh preserved this issue for appeal and that our review is for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Beal, 279 F.3d 567, 570 (8th Cir. 2002). “The court may exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by a danger of . . . unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, [or] misleading the jury.” Fed. R. Evid. 403. “The danger of permitting presentation of a summary of some of the evidence in a criminal case is plain. The jury might rely upon the alleged facts in the summary as if these facts had already been proved[.]” United States v. Scales, 594 F.2d 558, 564 (6th Cir. 1979). Such evidence is proper, however, when it “assist[s] the jury in understanding the testimony already introduced” and “fairly summarizes” trial evidence. United States v. Boesen, 541 F.3d 838, 848 (8th Cir. 2008). In addition, “summaries may include assumptions and conclusions so long as they are based upon evidence in the record,” United States v. Spires, 628 F.3d 1049, 1053 (8th Cir. 2011) (quotation omitted), but may be rejected if they are too conclusory or inaccurate, see United States v. Crockett, 49 F.3d 1357, 1361 (8th Cir. 1995). The chart at issue in this case was presented before any of the evidence the government claims it was meant to summarize and was referenced repeatedly throughout the remainder of the trial. The government concedes the chart was first introduced at the start of trial, and thereafter, “[w]hen a witness would refer to a defendant by name or nickname, Exhibit 222 would be displayed and the witness would be asked if the person’s picture appeared on the exhibit.” The government -12- argues that the chart was merely used “for the purpose of having witnesses put a face to a name.” But this purpose could easily have been accomplished without the offending captions. In addition to being used as a tool in closing argument, the chart was presented to the jury as substantive evidence and taken into the jury room to be considered during deliberation. Cf. Crockett, 49 F.3d at 1362 (emphasizing concern with the prosecution’s use of summary charts in closing argument and warning against visual aids in which “summary comes wrapped in improper argument”). We conclude that the district court’s decision to admit Exhibit 222 as substantive evidence was an abuse of discretion because it was unfairly prejudicial and conclusory to present a photo of the defendant with a caption labeling him the leader of the conspiracy, when no witness had yet testified to that fact. An erroneous evidentiary ruling is harmless, however, if it did not have a substantial influence on the jury’s verdict. United States v. Samuels, 611 F.3d 914, 919 (8th Cir. 2010). The investigator who testified about the contents of Exhibit 222 had been involved in the investigation since it began in 2009, had knowledge of the people depicted, and could testify as to what his investigation showed their roles to be. The investigator was subject to cross examination about the chart, and Okeayainneh’s counsel specifically elicited from the investigator the concession that the chart was created by the government and simply depicted “what the government thinks is going on.” Okeayainneh’s counsel made the same point in closing argument: “[j]ust because they have a chart with my client’s head at the top doesn’t mean he’s the kingpin of this operation.” In addition, we note that two of the defendants on the chart, identified as “bank insiders”—Sarnor-David and Osei-Tutu—were acquitted of all charges. Thus, the jury’s verdicts reflected an individual assessment of each defendant and the evidence against him or her, not an unthinking acceptance of the government’s views as depicted on the chart. Multiple witnesses testified as to Okeayainneh’s guilt. The government also presented Okeayainneh’s own admissions. When, as here, the government’s evidence of a defendant’s guilt is so overwhelming, any error related to the admission of a summary chart is harmless. Spires, 628 F.3d at 1053. -13-