Opinion ID: 6446
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Cautionary Instruction on Evidence of Co-Conspirators's Guilt

Text: 31 In his opening statement, the prosecutor mentioned that some of the witnesses who would testify for the Government had pleaded guilty to offenses related to those with which the appellants were charged. After Holley's attorney objected, the district court correctly instructed the jury that any evidence of another person's guilt was not to be considered as evidence of the appellants's guilt. Later, the Government elicited testimony from several witnesses that those witnesses had entered into plea agreements and guilty pleas as a result of their involvement with the appellants in the transactions that were at issue in this case. The district court again instructed the members of the jury that they were not to consider evidence of an accomplice's guilt as evidence of a defendant's guilt. Specifically, the trial judge stated that the fact that some witnesses have pled guilty or may be guilty is not to influence your decision as to whether or not these two individuals before you [i.e., the appellants] are guilty. That's why you are hearing all the facts and you base that decision on all the facts you will hear now and between the end of the lawsuit [sic]. And so I want to remind you to keep that in mind. 32 During the charge conference, the appellants requested that an instruction similar to the ones previously given be included in the court's final charge to the jury. The district court rejected this request. Both appellants contend that the refusal to include in the final jury charge an instruction that the jury was not to consider evidence of an accomplice's guilty plea as proof of the appellants's guilt is reversible error. 33 We have repeatedly held that, although evidence of an accomplice's guilty plea can be prejudicial, the admission of such evidence may allowed if it serves a legitimate purpose and is coupled with a cautionary jury instruction. United States v. Coleman, 997 F.2d 1101, 1104-05 (5th Cir.1993), cert. denied, --- U.S. ---- & ----, 114 S.Ct. 735 & 893, 126 L.Ed.2d 698 & 127 L.Ed.2d 86 (1994); United States v. Valley, 928 F.2d 130, 133 (5th Cir.1991). These conditions have been met in this case. The appellants concede that the Government had a legitimate reason for eliciting evidence of the witnesses's guilty pleas. Holley's and Haass's objection, therefore, is that the district court insufficiently instructed the jury to not use this testimony as evidence of the appellants's guilt. However, the district judge gave an appropriate cautionary instruction after the Government's opening statement and during the Government's case-in-chief. 34 The appellants's argument is thus reduced to the contention that the district court erred when it refused to include a similar instruction in the final jury charge. We disagree. The trial court sufficiently cautioned the jury when the testimony of the guilty pleas was elicited. Moreover, the appellants did not attempt to deny that violations of the law occurred. The theory of the defense for both appellants was that the witnesses who pleaded guilty were the only ones who committed any crimes. The danger that the jury would that infer the appellants were guilty because others had pleaded guilty to similar charges was diminished by the appellants's own defense. Under these circumstances, the district court's refusal to include a similar instruction in the final jury charge does not require reversal of the appellant's convictions. 35 While it is plainly the better practice to caution the jury both when evidence of an accomplice's guilty plea is introduced and at the close of evidence, repetition is not a requirement of a definite cautionary instruction. Under the facts of this case, the district court did not abuse its discretion by giving an appropriate instruction during the opening statements and when the guilty plea evidence was introduced. We hesitate to reverse a conviction for the absence of something in the final jury charge that was adequately taken care of earlier in the trial. Cf. United States v. Rewald, 889 F.2d 836, 865 (9th Cir.1989) (finding no abuse of discretion when the district court gave a cautionary instruction concerning a co-defendant's guilty plea during the final jury instructions rather than when the testimony was elicited at trial), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 819, 111 S.Ct. 64, 112 L.Ed.2d 39 (1990).