Opinion ID: 479867
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Proffered Testimony of Lowery's Sole Witness.

Text: 18 It is precisely for this reason that Lowery sought to introduce his roommate Thomas Butler's testimony at trial. Butler testified that he saw Fellouris at the apartment Butler shared with Lowery four to five times between December 1984 and February 1985. In response to the government's request for a proffer of the testimony to be elicited from Butler, Lowery's counsel explained at side bar that Butler would relate the substance of two conversations between Fellouris and Lowery in which Fellouris stated he had sold a theatrical property, had loaned the proceeds therefrom to Colombos, and that he was having difficulty getting repaid. 19 Furthermore, Butler would testify that when Fellouris delivered the checks to Lowery, he and Lowery discussed their nature, what they were for, and what they intended to do with the proceeds. Counsel added, This all goes to the state of mind of Mr. Lowery that he had no knowledge that the checks were stolen. The government objected to this proffer on hearsay grounds, arguing that the testimony neither goes to [Lowery's] state of mind nor fits within any other exception to the hearsay rule. To this Lowery's counsel responded, We are not suggesting hearsay. We are not offering it for the truth of the statements. We are offering it simply for the state of mind of the defendant. The trial court sustained the objection without comment. 20 On appeal the government argues that the ruling was proper in light of Lowery's ambiguous proffer. We reject this argument out of hand. In the context of the record, Lowery's proffer was sufficiently specific. Government witnesses, on both direct and cross-examination, had already testified to statements by Lowery regarding his beliefs that the checks were authentic and made in repayment of a loan, and that Fellouris intended to use the proceeds to open a restaurant in partnership with Lowery. Counsel's attempt to provide the basis for those statements through Butler's testimony more resembled fine-tuned choreography than risk-creating improvisation. United States v. Paone, 782 F.2d 386, 395 (2d Cir.1986). 21 The trial court erred in excluding Butler's testimony. Lowery was not basing his defense on the truth of Fellouris's statements, but rather on the fact that they were made and that Lowery believed them to be true. Accordingly, the proffered testimony did not fit within the definition of hearsay, see Fed.R.Evid. 801(c), nor, a fortiori, within the state of mind exception, id. 803(3), but instead was admissible as circumstantial evidence of Lowery's state of mind--his belief that Fellouris's activities were legitimate, see United States v. Southland Corp., 760 F.2d 1366, 1376 (2d Cir.) (citations omitted), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 106 S.Ct. 82, 88 L.Ed.2d 67 (1985); United States v. Harris, 733 F.2d 994, 1003-04 (2d Cir.1984); United States v. Dunloy, 584 F.2d 6, 11-12 (2d Cir.1978). 22 The government argues in the alternative that even if the trial court erred in precluding Butler's testimony, such error was harmless because the substance of that testimony had been elicited in previous testimony by government witnesses. We disagree. The government witnesses' testimony revealed arguably self-serving, post hoc exculpatory statements by Lowery to local and federal agents. By contrast, Butler's testimony would have recounted the pre hoc conversations between Fellouris and Lowery from which Lowery concluded that Fellouris's conduct was lawful. As a result, Butler's testimony had significantly greater probative value than the agents' testimony for two reasons: first, it would have been received on Lowery's direct case rather than during cross-examination of government witnesses; and second, perhaps more importantly, Butler's testimony would have corroborated Lowery's statements to law enforcement officials, thereby helping to diminish the effect of their self-serving nature. 23 In addition, Lowery called no other witnesses. When an erroneous evidentiary ruling precludes or impairs the presentation of a defendant's sole means of defense, we are reluctant to deem it harmless. See Harris, 733 F.2d at 1005 (quoting United States v. Carter, 491 F.2d 625, 630 (5th Cir.1974)). In sum, we hold that the district court erred in excluding Butler's testimony, and that the error adversely affected Lowery's right to a fair trial. 24