Opinion ID: 76891
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Admissibility of Acts Committed Against Cabello

Text: 54 Before trial, Fernández moved to exclude all evidence except the proof ... about what interaction he had with Winston Cabello in Copiapó contending that [n]one of the evidence about events outside Copiapó is relevant. Fernández claimed that the evidence of mistreatment of other prisoners was unfairly prejudicial to him. We review the district court's decision to grant or to deny a motion in limine for abuse of discretion. See Hendrix v. Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc., 776 F.2d 1492, 1503 (11th Cir.1985). The district court has wide discretion in determining the relevance of evidence produced at trial. See United States v. Kopituk, 690 F.2d 1289, 1319 (11th Cir.1982). 55 The district court found that evidence concerning the other twelve victims in Copiapó and the killings at the cities visited before and after Copiapó was relevant to whether Fernández knowingly participated in crimes against humanity and to whether he conspired to commit or aided and abetted the commission of other offenses. We agree. 56 As the Cabello survivors correctly argue, the evidence established a conspiracy in which Fernández's squad participated in the killing of at least 72 civilians, including those in Copiapó. The admitted evidence showed that Fernández was personally responsible for killings in La Serena, just prior to the incidents in Copiapó and also for acts in Antofagasta and Calama. Further, Cabello was one of thirteen men killed and buried together in Copiapó. We find no abuse of discretion in the trial judge's ruling that the evidence relating to the deaths' of the other prisoners is materially relevant in establishing the theory of conspiracy. 57 To prove the claim of crimes against humanity, the Cabello survivors had to prove a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population. Additionally, to prove conspiracy or aiding and abetting, at trial, the Cabello survivors were required to prove that Fernández had knowledge of the death squad's illicit purpose. Fernández's treatment of other prisoners and his participation in the squad's activities elsewhere are directly relevant to this question of liability for both the claims of conspiracy and that of aiding and abetting. 58 The evidence relating to the mistreatment or killing of other prisoners is not only relevant, but essential for the Cabello survivors' claims of crimes against humanity and that of conspiracy. Because this evidence was relevant and essential and the district court had no reason to believe that it would unfairly prejudice the defendant, admitting the evidence was within its discretion.