Opinion ID: 1227477
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Cautionary instructions regarding Detective Winters's testimony

Text: Because Vasquez failed to object to the jury instructions during trial, we will review these instructions under the plain-error standard of review. See United States v. Martin, 520 F.3d 656, 658 (6th Cir.2008). A defendant can demonstrate plain error by showing (1) an error, (2) that is plain, and (3) that affects his fundamental rights. Id. If the defendant satisfies these three conditions, we may exercise our discretion to correct the error only if the error seriously affected the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of the judicial proceedings. Id. We will not reverse a conviction if an error is harmless, meaning that it appears beyond a reasonable doubt that the error complained of did not contribute to the verdict obtained. United States v. Baldwin, 418 F.3d 575, 582 (6th Cir.2005) (citation and quotation marks omitted).
A law-enforcement officer may offer dual testimony as a fact witness and as an expert witness where a cautionary instruction is provided to the jury. United States v. Lopez-Medina, 461 F.3d 724, 743 (6th Cir.2006). In Lopez-Medina, we concluded that plain error occurred because no instruction on expert testimony or on the dual role of the officer was given, and there was no clear demarcation between the officer's expert testimony and his factual testimony. Id. at 744. We further found that the defendant's substantial rights and the fairness, integrity, and public reputation of the judicial proceeding were seriously impacted by this error in conjunction with the other evidentiary errors we find occurred in the defendant's trial. Id. at 745. In the instant case, Detective Winters testified at trial as both a fact and an expert witness, but the judge failed to give a cautionary instruction regarding Winters's dual role. Vasquez argues that this constitutes reversible error. The government does not dispute that a cautionary instruction was required and that an error occurred. Instead, the government argues that the error was harmless because the district judge gave general instructions regarding the two expert witnesses who testified at trial and that there were no other evidentiary errors. We agree with the government's argument. Although the failure to give a cautionary instruction was erroneous, the error was a harmless one because Vasquez failed to establish an effect on his substantial rights[] and a serious impact to the fairness, integrity or public reputation of the judicial proceeding. See Lopez-Medina, 461 F.3d at 745. An effect on substantial rights is typically established through a showing of an actual effect on the outcome of the case. Id. (citation omitted). In Lopez-Medina, we determined that the defendant made such a showing because the error in the jury instructions, in conjunction with other evidentiary errors, likely affected the outcome of the trial. But we have declined to extend the holding in Lopez-Medina to circumstances in which there were no other evidentiary errors. See Martin, 520 F.3d at 659-60 (holding that the lack of a cautionary instruction for an officer's dual testimony, although erroneous, did not seriously affect[] the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of the proceedings in the absence of other evidentiary errors). We also declined to extend Lopez-Medina in United States v. Cobbs, 233 Fed.Appx. 524, 541-42 (6th Cir.2007), where the prosecution effectively distinguished between the officer's expert and factual testimony and there were no other evidentiary errors. No other evidentiary errors were alleged in Vasquez's trial. Moreover, during the preliminary instructions, the district judge informed the jurors that [y]ou must consider and weigh the testimony of all witnesses who appear before you, and you alone are to determine whether to believe any witnesses and the extent to which any witness should be believed. Detective Winters testified in his capacity as an expert on October 18, 2006. When he stepped down, the government stated in the presence of the jury that it planned on recalling him relating to some of the factual circumstances in this case. Detective Winters was recalled the following day to testify regarding the facts of the case, after six other government witnesses had testified. After the close of testimony, the district judge generally instructed the jury on how to weigh expert testimony. Furthermore, there was ample evidence to support Vasquez's convictions. We therefore conclude that, although an error occurred, Vasquez's substantial rights were not affected and his convictions should not be reversed on this basis.