Opinion ID: 2720490
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Drug Business Operations

Text: Bryant contends the court erroneously admitted evidence about the Family drug operations, including the police actions that led to Bryant‘s prior drug conspiracy conviction.30 Bryant uses several pages of his brief to set out the evidence at issue, then asserts in a general manner that the evidence was irrelevant, prejudicial, and improper character evidence. Assuming Bryant has presented his appellate claims in a manner that sufficiently identifies the specific factual and legal bases supporting them, they are forfeited. He did not object to this evidence at trial on the grounds he now raises. This is equally true as to Smith and Wheeler, to the extent they intended to join Bryant‘s appellate claims. In arguing that the claims are not forfeited, Bryant points to a brief remark Smith‘s counsel made (in which Bryant‘s and Wheeler‘s counsel joined), before the prosecution began presenting the evidence. Counsel said there might come a point in the trial at which the otherwise relevant evidence should be limited under section 352 based on the undue consumption of time. 31 To the extent this statement could be deemed an objection 30 We address Bryant‘s challenges to the admission of the testimony and statements of specific individuals, including William Johnson, Lawrence Walton, and Ladell Player, post, in part III.B. 31 Counsel stated, ―On the drug stuff[,] there is a point at which we believe there is a relevancy on 352 problems [sic] in terms of the consumption of time. [¶] I believe [the officers] are going to talk about incidents in ‘84 or ‘85, certain rock houses and so on and so forth that may have some relevance. [¶] I don‘t know how long [the prosecutor] will go into that but it is going away from the motive to kill Armstrong into maybe matters relating to a drug conspiracy or something of that nature which has been severed out. [¶] I understand that it may have some relevance, but I want the court to be cognizant. [¶] Maybe we can go through it.‖ 78 at all, it obviously was not specific enough to have alerted the trial court to the asserted errors Bryant now claims. Defendants‘ failure to object with specificity prevented the prosecution and the court from addressing the relevance, probative value, and risk of undue prejudice or time consumption. Accordingly, we decline, except as discussed below, to entertain Bryant‘s appellate claims on this subject. In the factual recitation in his brief, Bryant mentions the introduction of his drug conspiracy conviction. Bryant argued at trial that his conviction would only be relevant for impeachment should he elect to testify. The trial court disagreed. It admitted the evidence to show the existence and scope of the organization and Bryant‘s role in it. It also found the evidence related to the credibility of a Bryant Family employee who testified about Bryant‘s role in the organization. On appeal, Bryant does not explain how the admission was error. To the extent he suggests that all the drug business evidence was irrelevant because it did not establish the motive for the murders, or because Bryant later admitted he was part of the business, the arguments are forfeited because they were not raised at trial. Moreover, they are meritless. The evidence was legitimate circumstantial evidence that Bryant knew Armstrong planned to ―squeeze‖ the Family, posing a threat that motivated the murders. Bryant‘s limited admission to lesser Family involvement did not retroactively render irrelevant the prosecution‘s evidence.