Opinion ID: 47945
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: finley's post-arrest interview

Text: 36
37 Finley contends that the district court abused its discretion by denying his request for a limiting instruction regarding a witness's comment on his veracity.
38 During the course of Finley's post-arrest interview at Brown's residence, Finley initially denied that he had ever distributed methamphetamine. Special Agent Cook and Sergeant Russell confronted Finley with a text message on his phone that read, Call Mark I need a 50. Finley told them that 50 referred to an ounce (fifty dollars' worth) of marijuana, not methamphetamine. Special Agent Cook and Sergeant Russell challenged Finley's assertion that an ounce of marijuana costs fifty dollars. The following exchange then occurred: 39 Sgt Russell: I'll tell you what, you better start telling the truth. 40 Finley: I'm telling the truth, sir. 41 Sgt Russell: No you['re] not. 42 SA Cook: No you['re] not telling us the truth. 43 A recording of the interview and a transcript of the recording were admitted at trial. 44 At the charge conference, Finley requested that the court instruct the jury to disregard Special Agent Cook's and Sergeant Russell's comments about Finley's veracity. The district court denied Finley's request, reasoning that the officers were simply trying to get the most accurate statement possible from their interview of Finley and that the statements were not being offered to bolster the evidence or to accuse Finley at trial.
45 We review a properly preserved challenge to jury instructions for abuse of discretion. United States v. Daniels, 281 F.3d 168, 183 (5th Cir.2002) (citing United States v. Huynh, 246 F.3d 734, 738 (5th Cir.2001)). But when the issue was not properly raised before the district court, our review is for plain error. Id. (citing United States v. Caucci, 635 F.2d 441, 447 (5th Cir. Unit B Jan.1981)). 46 At the time the recording and transcript were admitted into evidence, Finley did not object on the basis that the statements improperly permitted one witness to opine on the veracity of another. The government argues that our review is consequently for plain error only. But Finley did request later at the charge conference that the jury be instructed to disregard any comments about Finley's veracity. We need not resolve, however, whether Finley preserved his argument because, as we explain below, even under an abuse-of-discretion standard we discern no reversible error.
47 Relying on United States v. Freitag, Finley maintains that a limiting instruction was necessary because the transcript of the interview involved a witness discussing the veracity of the accused. See 230 F.3d 1019, 1024 (7th Cir.2000) (Because credibility questions are for the jury, it is improper to ask one witness to comment on the veracity of the testimony of another witness. (citing United States v. Cole, 41 F.3d 303, 308 (7th Cir.1994); United States v. Sullivan, 85 F.3d 743, 749-50 (1st Cir. 1996))). Finley also relies on United States v. Dotson, 799 F.2d 189 (5th Cir. 1986), which discusses the propriety of offering opinion evidence to impeach the credibility of a witness at trial. But these cases are inapposite because the challenge to Finley's truthfulness occurred in a pretrial interview, not at trial during a witness's testimony. 9 48 The district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Finley's request to instruct the jury to disregard Special Agent Cook's and Sergeant Russell's remarks. Special Agent Cook and Sergeant Russell certainly accused Finley of being untruthful, but it was done in the context of police questioning, and the jury was permitted to hear the comments in their context. The jury would certainly have understood that the officers investigating Finley would not have believed him, and the jury would not have afforded those officers' remarks in the context of the interview any more weight than they would have afforded the fact that the government also disbelieved him and decided to prosecute him. Cf. Dubria v. Smith, 224 F.3d 995, 1001-02 & n. 2 (9th Cir.2000) (en banc) (concluding in habeas review that trial court did not err by refusing to redact portions of a tape and transcript wherein a detective, inter alia, made statements of disbelief of the defendant's story in the context of pretrial police questioning because the questions and comments placed the defendant's answers in context, there was nothing in the detective's statements that suggested evidence or theories of the case that were not presented at trial, and the jury would give the statements no more weight than they would the fact [the defendant] was charged by the prosecutor with murder or that the prosecutor clearly also disbelieved [the defendant]). 10

49 Finley finally contends that the district court erred by admitting evidence of his prior drug use and distribution. During Finley's interview with Special Agent Cook and Sergeant Russell, Finley admitted that he had used methamphetamine he received from Brown on two prior occasions: once in high school 11 and once three days prior to his arrest. He also admitted to cocaine use once in high school. He admitted to getting his friends marijuana from Brown so many times that he couldn't count, and he said that on one of those occasions, two to three weeks earlier, the bag from Brown that was supposed to contain entirely marijuana had some small shards of methamphetamine in the bottom. Finley objected to the inclusion of these statements in the recording and transcript of his interview. Additionally, Brown testified that during the approximately six months prior to his arrest, he had sold Finley methamphetamine five to ten times and that Finley had distributed some of this methamphetamine; Finley objected to this testimony as well. The district court overruled Finley's objections, concluding that the evidence was admissible under Rule 404(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence, although the court did give the jury a limiting instruction prior to the recording of the interview being played for the jury and again in the jury charge.
50 We review a district court's decision to admit Rule 404(b) evidence in a criminal case under a heightened abuse-of-discretion standard. United States v. Jackson, 339 F.3d 349, 354 (5th Cir.2003) (citing United States v. Wisenbaker, 14 F.3d 1022, 1028 (5th Cir.1994)). Even if the district court abused its discretion, reversal is not proper if the error was harmless. Id. (citing United States v. Torres, 114 F.3d 520, 526 (5th Cir.1997)).
51 Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is admissible as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident. FED.R.EVID. 404(b). We analyze the admissibility of evidence under Rule 404(b) in a two-step inquiry. First, it must be determined that the extrinsic offense evidence is relevant to an issue other than the defendant's character. Second, the evidence must possess probative value that is not substantially outweighed by its undue prejudice and must meet the other requirements of [R]ule 403. United States v. Beechum, 582 F.2d 898, 911 (5th Cir.1978) (en banc). 52 Evidence of Finley's past methamphetamine purchases from Brown and his past distributions of narcotics were relevant to show Finley's motive and intent. The central issue at trial was whether Finley intended to aid and abet Brown's methamphetamine distribution to Stratton by driving Brown to the truck stop. Finley's recent assistance in Brown's distribution of narcotics was relevant to show Finley's intent to assist him on the day of the sale at the truck stop. And evidence of Finley's recent use of methamphetamine he bought or received from Brown was relevant to show Finley's motive — i.e., he agreed to drive Brown to the truck stop in exchange for extra methamphetamine. Moreover, the district court did not err by concluding that any undue prejudice did not substantially outweigh the evidence's probative value. 53 The district court may, however, have abused its discretion by admitting evidence of Finley's cocaine and methamphetamine use while he was in high school. Cf. United States v. McDonald, 905 F.2d 871, 875 (5th Cir.1990) (concluding that evidence of defendant's past speed and cocaine use was not admissible to show defendant's knowledge that his car contained marijuana); United States v. Jimenez, 613 F.2d 1373, 1376 (5th Cir.1980) (reviewing a conviction for heroin distribution and concluding that undue prejudice substantially outweighed probative value of evidence of cocaine possession one year later). 54 But we conclude on these facts that any error was harmless. There was more than sufficient proof of Finley's guilt absent this evidence, and any harm was minimized by the court's two admonishments to the jury to consider the evidence for very limited purposes only. See United States v. Taylor, 210 F.3d 311, 318 (5th Cir.2000) ([P]rejudicial effect [of Rule 404(b) evidence] may be minimized by a proper jury instruction.).