Opinion ID: 52060
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Picture of Blasingame’s Tattoo and Wound

Text: Blasingame next argues that the district court erred when it allowed the Government to introduce into evidence a photograph of his torso, which showed his tattoo and a gunshot wound. Mahan, one of the cooperating co-conspirators, testified at trial that in order to help identify the person he knew to be “Pat,” he 19 described to authorities a scar that “Pat” had on his stomach. Agent Fonseca also testified that Mahan had described “Pat’s” scar and tattoos and recounted Mahan’s description of the scar for the jury. Over Blasingame’s objection, the district court admitted a photograph of Blasingame taken at the time of his arrest that depicted a similar scar and numerous tattoos for the purpose of showing that “Pat” was Blasingame and to corroborate Mahan’s identification of the defendant as one of the two masked gunmen who shot the victim. Blasingame argues initially that the photograph is not relevant and should not have been admitted into evidence. He asserts that the Government’s proffered reasons for introducing the photograph are not valid. In the alternative, Blasingame argues that even if the photograph is relevant in some way, the prejudicial impact of the photograph far outweighed any probative value it had. We review a district court’s evidentiary ruling for a clear abuse of discretion and will only reverse an erroneous ruling if it affected the defendant’s substantial rights. United States v. Tinoco, 304 F.3d 1088, 1119 (2002). District courts have broad discretion in admitting relevant evidence. United States v. Terzado-Madruga, 897 F.2d 1099, 1117 (11th Cir. 1990) (citing United States v. Finestone, 816 F.2d 583,585 (11th Cir. 1987)). Thus, “evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more 20 probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence” is generally admitted. See FED. R. EVID. 401. In contrast, a district court’s discretion under Rule 403 to exclude relevant evidence because it would be unfairly prejudicial is limited. Finestone, 816 F.2d at 585. Rule 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence is an extraordinary remedy that should be utilized sparingly. United States v. Elkins, 885 F.2d 775, 785 (11th Cir. 1989). Furthermore, because the balancing test under Rule 403 should favor admissibility, this court views the evidence “in a light most favorable to its admission, maximizing its probative value and minimizing its undue prejudicial impact.” Id. at 785 (citing Finestone, 816 F.2d at 585). Blasingame first argues that the photograph was not relevant and that the reasons proffered by the Government for its introduction are not valid. Blasingame argues that Mahan had known him for over ten years and therefore the photograph was not needed to prove his identity. Because Mahan’s testimony clearly shows that he initially identified the shooter as “Pat,” the Government used the photograph to show that “Pat” was actually Blasingame. Blasingame also contends that because Mahan did not describe the scar and tattoos to the jury, there was no evidence to show whether the photograph was consistent with Mahan’s description of the scar and tattoos. Agent Fonseca, however, recounted Mahan’s description of the scar for the jury. Thus, the photograph was admitted to allow the jury to see 21 whether the scar in the photograph matched “Pat’s” scar that Mahan described to Agent Fonseca. Blasingame also asserts that if the photograph was relevant he was unfairly prejudiced by it because a jury would be persuaded that a man with a gunshot wound and graphic tattoos would likely be involved in a conspiracy to commit an armed robbery. Blasingame argues that any probative value the photograph may have had was outweighed by its obvious prejudicial effect. Blasingame relies on United States v. Thomas, 321 F.3d 627 (7th Cir. 2003), for the proposition that the photograph’s probative value was eclipsed by its prejudicial impact. Here, the probative value of the photograph of Blasingame’s scar and tattoos was not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Although Mahan had known Blasingame for over ten years, it is clear from his testimony at trial that he described Blasingame as “Pat” when he initially spoke to authorities. Further, Blasingame tried to distance himself from Mahan and the other coconspirators by claiming that Mahan and he were not in the same social circle or friends. Blasingame further testified that Mahan was a liar who had falsely incriminated him. Therefore, the photograph was used by the Government to show that Blasingame was the person identified by Mahan as “Pat” and to further corroborate Mahan’s identification of Blasingame as one of the two masked 22 gunmen who shot the victim. Blasingame’s reliance on Thomas is mistaken. In Thomas, the district court allowed the prosecution to admit a photograph of defendant’s gun tattoo for the purpose of showing that the defendant approved of guns in order to refute the defendant’s contention that he did not possess the firearm in question. Id. The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the tattoo of two crossed revolvers had no probative value because the tattoo only showed that because the defendant had a pair of guns tattooed on his forearm, he was the kind of person who was likely to possess guns. Id. The facts of the present case are strikingly different. Here, unlike the photograph in Thomas, Blasingame’s photograph had significant probative value. As already discussed, the photograph was used to identify “Pat” and corroborate Mahan’s identification of Blasingame. Any unfair prejudice Blasingame may have experienced from the photograph does not overcome the photograph’s probative value. Moreover, given the presumption of admissibility under Rule 403, we cannot conclude that the district court abused its discretion in allowing the photograph to be admitted.