Opinion ID: 1264920
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Prosecutor's use of the mug shot

Text: Simmons argues that the district court abused its discretion in denying his request for a mistrial after the government displayed a demonstrative chart during final argument that pictured Simmons in jail clothes. At the outset, we should note that we review the judge's decision for an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Cheska, 202 F.3d 947, 953 (7th Cir.2000). We have, in limited circumstances, approved the use of mug shots at trial, but the use must be justified by the government's demonstrable need to introduce the photographs. United States v. Castaldi, 547 F.3d 699, 704 (7th Cir.2008). The government concedes that it had no demonstrable need for the use of Simmons's mug shot and it erred in showing it to the jury. The trial court agreed after defendant's objection and ordered the government not to use the photograph; the government made no further use or mention of it. But, the trial court did not conclude that the prejudice engendered by the photograph's use required a mistrial. This decision was not an abuse of discretion. It is not clear from the record how long the offending photo was on display to the jurors, but it does not appear to have been before them for an extended period of time. It would have required a real discerning juror to have been able to identify the photo as a mug shot anyway. It was a head and shoulders shot of Simmons, displaying only the neckline of an orange shirt, but contained no date or other markings identifying the clothing or the photo as coming from the jail. Simmons posits that a photo of Campbell in a similar shirt was also on the demonstrative chart and that when he and Mann testified, they were both wearing similar orange jail outfits. Of course, folks who are regularly around the criminal justice process would probably recognize the distinctive color of even a portion of this jail garb, but it is doubtful that a member of the general public would be so insightful. And it was no secret that Simmons and his cohorts had been arrestedhe was on trial for bank robbery charges. But even assuming that the jury understood this photo to have been one of Simmons in jail attire, the court's decision to complete the final arguments was not error. A decision to declare a mistrial would have been appropriate if the brief glimpse of the photograph deprived the defendant of a fair trial. United States v. Danford, 435 F.3d 682, 686 (7th Cir.2006). The trial court was in a better position to judge the error's effect than we are. Cheska, 202 F.3d at 953. Since the trial judge corrected the error immediately, the harm was negligible. Furthermore, the government points out that Simmons's counsel alluded to his client's past criminal history in order to explain the purchases Simmons made after the robbery. While the use of mug shots is disfavored and usually impermissible, there is no rule requiring an automatic mistrial based on their use. See Castaldi, 547 F.3d at 704-05. The decision to proceed was appropriately made within the trial judge's discretion. We do, however, emphasize that the use of the mug shot was improper and note that an easy way to ensure that an issue like this does not arise is for the parties to share their demonstrative exhibits with each other before they are used. This will allow all parties to avoid both potential prejudice and needless litigation.