Opinion ID: 4236001
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The District Court Erred in Allowing the

Text: Government To Use Criminal Profile Testimony as Substantive Evidence of Guilt We generally review a district court’s decision to admit or deny expert testimony for abuse of discretion. United States v. Reed, 575 F.3d 900, 918 (9th Cir. 2009). However, we review de novo the “construction or interpretation of . . . the Federal Rules of Evidence, including whether particular evidence falls within the scope of a given rule.” United States v. Durham, 464 F.3d 976, 981 (9th Cir. 2006). Where the district court fails to engage in necessary Rule 403 balancing, we likewise review de novo. United States v. 18 UNITED STATES V. WELLS Boulware, 384 F.3d 794, 808 n.6 (9th Cir. 2004) (where “[t]he district court [] did not perform a Rule 403 balancing analysis,” the “review [is] de novo”); see also United States v. Moran, 493 F.3d 1002, 1012 (9th Cir. 2007) (per curiam). Dr. J. Reid Meloy is a licensed, board-certified forensic psychologist, who was tendered as an expert in “targeted, intended workplace multiple-homicide violence.” 3 While the parties portray the substance of Dr. Meloy’s testimony differently, there is no real dispute as to the intended role of his testimony within the Government’s case. This testimony was presented on the sixth day of trial, during the Government’s case-in-chief, and invited the jury to find a “fit” between Dr. Meloy’s criminal profile and the lay witnesses’ testimony concerning Wells’ own character traits. On appeal, Wells challenges Dr. Meloy’s testimony as improper “profile” evidence used as substantive evidence of Wells’ guilt. For the reasons explained herein, we find that Dr. Meloy’s testimony was admitted without regard to Federal Rule of Evidence 404(a)(1) or the sensitive balancing required by Rule 403. Before we reach the merits, however, we must first address the parties’ dispute as to 3 We decline to address Dr. Meloy’s qualifications. At the outset of the tender, defense counsel requested a sidebar, during which the transcript clearly indicates that Mr. Offenbecher was confirming his “continuing objection”; however, the transcript is “indiscernible” as to the exact nature thereof. Nevertheless, the court clarified Wells’ position before proceeding with the tender: “Your objection is based on relevance, not on his expertise, right?” Defense counsel then responded: “Right.” It is thus clear that Wells waived any challenge to Dr. Meloy’s expertise by accepting the tender without objection. See United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 733 (1993) (defining waiver as “the intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right”) (internal quotation marks omitted). UNITED STATES V. WELLS 19 whether Wells properly preserved this claim for appeal. Our analysis begins with the relevant timeline of objections. Pretrial, Wells moved to exclude Dr. Meloy’s testimony under Rules 401–403, 404(a), and 608, and requested a Daubert hearing. At the hearing, Wells argued, in pertinent part: [T]his is in the realm of creating a profile, and that could, I think, arguably only be applied to Mr. Wells if this is workplace violence. [T]his is a classic example of vague generalizations that are too broad to be admitted in this particular case under these circumstances. In response, the Government recognized that Wells’ “attack seems to be that you can’t testify as to general characteristics,” and then criticized the failure to cite any case law addressing the use of profile evidence. The Government also relied, then and now, on the advisory committee’s note to the 2000 amendments to Rule 702, providing that it might “be important in some cases for an expert to educate the factfinder about general principles, without ever attempting to apply these principles to the specific facts of the case.” Fed. R. Evid. 702 advisory committee’s note to 2000 amendments. Although the magistrate judge ultimately recognized the potential dangers in Dr. Meloy’s testimony, his post-hearing ruling only peripherally acknowledged Wells’ profile challenge, as follows: The defense complains that Melroy [sic] is creating a profile that can only be applied to the defendant if the crime was workplace 20 UNITED STATES V. WELLS violence. That observation is not a sufficient reason to preclude the government from calling an expert witness to testify about workplace violence. The magistrate judge further deemed it “appropriate in this case for the government to offer the opinion of a forensic psychologist as to whether certain characteristics present in this case suggest workplace violence,” while recognizing that Dr. Meloy had not examined Wells personally. Finally,