Opinion ID: 13413
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Display of Guns and Drugs

Text: Appellants contend that the prosecutors acted improperly at the start of the trial by displaying on the prosecutor's table in the plain view of the jury various drugs and weapons which had not been admitted into evidence. Defendants timely objected to the display. Outside the jury's presence, the judge ordered the government not to display anything on the table that was not on the exhibit list. The judge then instructed the jury: Ladies and gentlemen, with respect to the exhibits that -- or potential exhibits that are on the table, these are not in evidence. There's a weapon of some type lying out there on that table and other paraphernalia. You are not to consider those for any purpose at this time. Those are not exhibits in evidence at this time. There are no exhibits in evidence at this time. Whether those will come into evidence or not I don't know. But you're going to consider in this case only the exhibits and you are not to be in any way influenced by anything that you have seen in connection with materials lying on the tables of counsel at this time. That is not in evidence. We have not had any testimony. We've not had any exhibits at this time. 21 (12 R. 221, 236-37). Because neither the government nor the appellants recall specifically what items were displayed on the table, we are unable to determine whether all of the items displayed on the table were later admitted into evidence. However, the record does demonstrate that a gun and several exhibits of cocaine were admitted. Considering the district judge's instruction to the prosecution to remove any items which were not listed on the witness list, the lack of a record indicating that any displayed item was not admitted into evidence, and the judge's thorough instruction that the items displayed were not evidence, we conclude that appellants suffered no prejudice from the display.