Opinion ID: 4236001
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: She was hysterical, very, very upset. In

Text: fact, I–I don’t know that we even had to say anything. When we walked in in uniform–she 62 UNITED STATES V. WELLS had already heard. Kodiak’s a small town. They were aware something was going on at the communication station by that point. I think–I don’t remember the exact time, but I believe it was around 10 o’clock in the morning, so it had been, you know, two hours or so. Word gets out. And so when we walked in in uniform– Q. Did she blurt out a name? A. Yes. Q. What was that name? A. Jim Wells. Wells immediately objected on the basis of relevance and moved to strike the testimony. The Government argued that the statement was admissible as an excited utterance and was not being offered for the truth thereof. The district court deferred ruling, instructed the Government to move on with questioning, and later revisited the issue outside the presence of the jury. During oral argument on this issue, the Government took the inconsistent positions that the statement was admissible as both an excited utterance and to show that there was some discord between Richard Belisle and Wells. As to the latter, the Government’s position was that Ms. Belisle’s statement tended to rebut two defense themes: that Chief Scott Reckner’s hostility toward Wells caused investigators to focus on Wells to the exclusion of other suspects; and that Wells and Belisle got along. These positions are of course UNITED STATES V. WELLS 63 contradictory because the latter could only be valid if the statement was indeed offered for the truth thereof. Wells moved for a mistrial. The district court denied the mistrial and instead gave the following limiting instruction: I need a cautionary–I’m concerned about a comment that was made during the last witness when a question was asked–or when the commander and those with him conveyed to Mrs. Belisle that her husband had been killed, and her response was–you remember what her response was. She said a name. I have to make it clear to you that she had no personal knowledge of that. And so that statement cannot be used by you as evidence of that event. It could be limited, very, very limited. It explains possibly, and maybe not, her relationship–her impr–her personal impression of the relationship between her husband and Mr. Wells and the information she conveyed at the time to the commander and those there. But it is not evidence of– against Mr. Wells as to who committed this crime, because she didn’t know. She simply did not know. It’s an emotional reaction. That was it. And to give it more weight than that would be highly inappropriate. Tells you her reaction, and possibly limited to other ways. But it is not, cannot, should not be used in any way to suggest that the defendant committed the crimes he’s charged with, because she didn’t know. 64 UNITED STATES V. WELLS ... Anything else I can say beyond what–I’m trying to make it as clear as a bell. This is very, very limited. It’s what we call an excited utterance. It’s an emotional response. But it has no evidentiary basis as to the issue you have before you as to who committed these crimes. Very, very limited as to her emotional response at the moment and the impression possibly that she had with regard to her husband’s relationship with the defendant. And of course whatever impressions might have been created in the minds of those standing before her at the moment. The jury was released for the day, and the court then addressed counsel, declaring that the jury’s body language indicated that they “seemed to clearly understand that this was not evidence as to who committed the crime.” The next morning, outside the presence of the jury, the district court heard further argument on the issue. At that time, the court was initially inclined to instruct the jury to disregard the testimony but was ultimately satisfied that the above-described instruction “clearly limit[ed] any prejudice.” Upon request, Wells was allowed to recall Commander Van Ness in an attempt to clarify the context of the statement introduced the day before. When Commander Van Ness testified that he did not recall the conversation with Ms. Belisle, the Government stipulated to the contents of the transcript. At the time, Wells explicitly did not seek reconsideration of the prior day’s ruling that the statement was an excited utterance, and the merits of that ruling are not UNITED STATES V. WELLS 65 before us on appeal. Instead, we are asked to decide whether prosecutorial misconduct required a mistrial, or now, requires a reversal. As mentioned, such a finding requires both misconduct and prejudice. Wright, 625 F.3d at 609–10. “A prosecutor has a special duty commensurate with a prosecutor’s unique power, to assure that defendants receive fair trials.” United States v. LaPage, 231 F.3d 488, 492 (9th Cir. 2000) (addressing a prosecutor’s duty when he knows that his witness commits perjury). “It is certainly within the bounds of fair advocacy for a prosecutor, like any lawyer, to ask the jury to draw inferences from the evidence that the prosecutor believes in good faith might be true.” United States v. Blueford, 312 F.3d 962, 968 (9th Cir. 2002). Here, we find that the prosecutor committed misconduct for several reasons. First, the prosecutor’s question interrupted Commander Van Ness describing what happened when the two officers “walked in in uniform.” This mischaracterized the timing of Ms. Belisle’s statement, by giving the jury the false impression that it was immediately uttered upon seeing the uniformed officers. Second, the prosecutor’s phrasing, inquiring whether the widow “blurt[ed] out a name,” again mischaracterizes the statement as being made suddenly and without considered thought. In reality, the statement was made approximately ten minutes after the officers approached Ms. Belisle, and in response to direct questions which required consideration of possible suspects. The phrase “blurt out” plainly ignores the role played by the officers in eliciting Wells’ name as a possible suspect. Third, not only did the prosecutor choose not to bring this sensitive issue to the district court’s attention prior to questioning Commander Van Ness, but upon verbalizing the mischaracterization and being confronted with the ramifications, the prosecutor failed to 66 UNITED STATES V. WELLS assist in mitigation thereof. Although this constitutes misconduct, we find no prejudice. The district court adequately redressed the Government’s action. In addition to instructing the jurors that questions are not evidence, the district court gave a lengthy limiting instruction. Wells neither objected to the limiting instruction itself nor did he request any further instructions. “Generally, when evidence is heard by the jury that is subsequently ruled inadmissible, or is applicable only to limited defendants or in a limited manner, a cautionary instruction from the judge is sufficient to cure any prejudice to the defendant.” United States v. Escalante, 637 F.2d 1197, 1202–03 (9th Cir. 1980). “This procedure is the preferred alternative to declaring mistrial . . .; mistrial is appropriate only where there has been so much prejudice that an instruction is unlikely to cure it.” Id. at 1203. “[O]ur court assumes that the jury listened to and followed the trial judge’s instructions.” Id. at 1202; see also United States v. Gallenardo, 579 F.3d 1076, 1082 (9th Cir. 2009) (affirming denial of motion for a mistrial because it is “presume[d] that the jury followed the district court’s limiting instruction”). In addition to the limiting instruction, the district court allowed Wells to recall Commander Van Ness, in an effort to place the prejudicial statement in its proper context. See United States v. Whitworth, 856 F.2d 1268, 1285 (9th Cir. 1988) (opponent may introduce evidence “to rebut any false impression that might have resulted from the earlier admission”); Standard Oil Co. of Cal. v. Moore, 251 F.2d 188, 220 (9th Cir. 1957) (in the context of hypothetical questions posed to experts, prejudicial error seldom results where “the objecting party can, through cross-examination, expose to the jury the asserted deficiencies of the hypothetical question as asked”). Furthermore, the parties UNITED STATES V. WELLS 67 ultimately stipulated to the contents of the transcript, such that the jury was well aware of its proper context. The district court did not plainly err. F. The District Court Properly Excluded Evidence of Third Party Culpability “We review for abuse of discretion a claim that the trial court improperly excluded evidence of third-party culpability.” Territory of Guam v. Ignacio, 10 F.3d 608, 611 (9th Cir. 1993). “There is no question that the defendant has the right to introduce evidence of third-party culpability.” Ignacio, 10 F.3d at 615. The admission of third-party culpability evidence is governed by “[f]undamental standards of relevancy, subject to the discretion of the court to exclude cumulative evidence and to insure orderly presentation of a case.” United States v. Armstrong, 621 F.2d 951, 953 (9th Cir. 1980). Wells’ proffered testimony, however, was not even minimally relevant. At trial, Wells sought to introduce evidence of an alternative perpetrator, Jason Barnum. The district court allowed Wells to proffer the testimony of Mr. Barnum himself, along with seven other witnesses, in an attempt to show some logical connection to any of the facts in this case. Despite multiple witness proffers, Wells was never able to elicit any testimony that Barnum knew any of the victims or the victims’ families or that he had any connection to, or familiarity with, the COMMSTA facility. The district court applied the balancing test set forth in Miller v. Stagner, 68 UNITED STATES V. WELLS 757 F.2d 988 (9th Cir. 1985), 16 and found that Mr. Barnum had “nothing meaningful, reliable, or relevant to offer.” Having probed the proffered testimony ourselves, we agree with the district court that it has no probative value. Far from abusing its discretion, the district court granted Wells every opportunity to show some logical connection, however weak or remote, between Jason Barnum and this case, and he failed to establish any relevancy. G. We Reassign To Preserve the Appearance of Justice This Court will reassign a case on remand only under “unusual circumstances or when required to preserve the interests of justice.” United States v. Wolf Child, 699 F.3d 1082, 1102 (9th Cir. 2012). We need not find actual bias on the part of the district court prior to reassignment. Krechman v. Cty. of Riverside, 723 F.3d 1104, 1111 (9th Cir. 2013). Rather, we consider: (1) whether the original judge would reasonably be expected upon remand to have substantial difficulty in putting out of his or her mind previously expressed views or findings determined to be erroneous or based on evidence that must be rejected, 16 In determining whether the exclusion of trial evidence violated a defendant’s due process rights, the Miller factors seek to balance the following considerations: “the probative value of the evidence on the central issue; its reliability; whether it is capable of evaluation by the trier of fact; whether it is the sole evidence on the issue or merely cumulative; and whether it constitutes a major part of the attempted defense.” Miller v. Stagner, 757 F.2d 988, 994 (9th Cir. 1985). Due weight should also be given to the governmental interests in “preserving orderly trials, in judicial efficiency, and in excluding unreliable or prejudicial evidence.” Id. at 995. UNITED STATES V. WELLS 69 (2) whether reassignment is advisable to preserve the appearance of justice, and (3) whether reassignment would entail waste and duplication out of proportion to any gain in preserving appearance of fairness. Wolf Child, 699 F.3d at 1102 (quoting United States v. Quach, 302 F.3d 1096, 1103 (9th Cir. 2002)). “The first two factors are equally important and a finding of either is sufficient to support reassignment on remand.” Krechman, 723 F.3d at 1112. Wells requests reassignment based on the district court’s extensive comments, made at sentencing, in response to Wells’ insistence upon his own innocence. Having reviewed those comments, in light of the above factors, we expect that the original judge would have substantial difficulty in setting aside his views of this case. 17 We therefore find that reassignment is advisable to preserve the appearance of justice and order that this case be reassigned on remand. 17 The dissent recognizes that “the district court undoubtedly used strong language” at sentencing and enumerates the statements that raise the possibility or appearance that the original trial court might have difficulty setting aside its views of this case. In particular, we note that the district court relied on the very profile evidence we hold warrants a new trial here, calling Wells “angry, selfish, jealous, narcissistic, and envious.” Thus, this is not a case where the district court merely “expressed [its] opinion of the defendant’s guilt at sentencing,” but one where at least some of the subject statements were founded on error. 70 UNITED STATES V. WELLS IV. CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, we find that Wells did not receive a fair trial. REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR A NEW TRIAL AFTER BEING REASSIGNED.