Opinion ID: 599061
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Wiretap Objection

Text: 8 Defendant next turns his argument away from the jury and aims it instead at the district court judge. Miller contends the court erred when it sustained the Government's objections to questions regarding the existence of a wiretap at the gang leader's house. During the defense's cross-examination of Detective Dine, the following exchange occurred: 9 Defense: And did you not have probable cause at that time to have a telephone tap placed on the ... 10 Government: Objection, your Honor. 11 Court: Sustained. 12 Defense: Was there a telephone tap placed at 516 South Temple? 13 Government: Objection. 14 Court: Sustained. 15 By sustaining the Government's objections, Miller contends relevant evidence was excluded. Defendant argues that if a wiretap was in existence at the gang leader's house, then it would be possible to learn the identity of the person who was called on to deliver guns to the purported Kentucky marijuana grower. This would in turn, Defendant argues, prove the identity of the person who indeed did deliver the guns. Alternatively, Miller contends that if his question had been asked and the answer was that there had been no wiretap, that would somehow undercut the credibility of Detective Dine's identification or the thoroughness of the Hellraiser investigation. Either way, Miller feels that by sustaining the objections, the trial court adversely affected his substantial rights and the judgment should be reversed and the case remanded for a new trial. 16 Defendant's call to action is broad, but our standard of review is narrow. We review a trial court's ruling on the admissibility of evidence for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Bigelow, 914 F.2d 966, 971 (7th Cir.1990), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 1077, 112 L.Ed.2d 1182 (1991); see also United States v. Allen, 930 F.2d 1270, 1273 (7th Cir.1991) (reviewing court gives deference to trial court's evidentiary rulings). 17 In this case, it is debatable whether the questions would have elicited relevant testimony. On appeal, the Government contends, and the Defendant does not dispute, that there was no wiretap on the gang leader's telephone. The Government notes further that had there been a wiretap, it would have been obliged in pretrial discovery to disclose this fact. But even ignoring these post-trial statements and assuming the testimony would have been relevant, we believe any error in excluding this evidence was harmless. The crucial issue in this case is not whether Cecil Miller was the person who was called on the phone to deliver the shotguns, the crucial issue is whether Cecil Miller was the man who drove up to the gang leader's house with two shotguns in his possession. Cecil Miller was sentenced to twenty years in prison for being a felon in possession of firearms, not for being on the receiving end of a telephone call. 18 As we recently noted in United States v. Saunders, 973 F.2d 1354 (7th Cir.1992), We will overturn a conviction on evidentiary grounds only if the erroneous ruling had a 'substantial influence over the jury.'  Id. at 1359 (quoting United States v. Fairman, 707 F.2d 936, 941 n. 5 (7th Cir.1983)); see also 28 U.S.C. § 2111 (appellate court gives judgment without regard to errors which do not affect substantial rights of parties); Fed.R.Crim.P. 52 (error which does not affect substantial rights shall be disregarded); Fed.R.Evid. 103(a) (decision to exclude evidence is not error unless substantial right affected); United States v. Pretel, 939 F.2d 233, 239 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 327, 116 L.Ed.2d 267 (1991) (evidentiary rulings affirmed unless they impair substantial right of complaining party). The omitted evidence, even if relevant, fell short of that standard; Defendant was not thereby limited in attacking Detective Dine's eyewitness identification nor in supporting his own alibi defense. In short, if there was error, we deem such error harmless and therefore will not overturn the conviction.