Opinion ID: 200397
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Prejudicial Spillover from the Case against Lebrón

Text: 22 As set forth above, the jury heard several witnesses recount the details of admissions Lebrón made to them about his role in the carjacking. Caraballo did not seek a severance of his trial or a limiting instruction informing the jury that these admissions were not to be considered against him. Caraballo now contends that the admissions described facts so similar to those for which he was on trial that the district court's failure to sever his trial from Lebrón's or to give the jury a limiting instruction amounted to plain error within the meaning of Fed.R.Crim.P. 52(b). Caraballo analogizes his plight to that of the accused in United States v. Sauza-Martinez, 217 F.3d 754 (9th Cir.2000), which found plain error in a trial court's failure to give a limiting instruction at the time it admitted evidence regarding an extra-judicial statement by the accused's co-defendant that directly implicated both the co-defendant and the accused. See id. at 759-61. Caraballo also complains that the court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial when one of these witnesses testified that Lebrón told him that Caraballo (and not Lebrón) had shot Fontánez. 23 While it would be most unusual for us to find that a district court erred in failing to give a limiting instruction that was never requested, we shall assume solely for the sake of argument that the court should have instructed the jury sua sponte that Lebrón's admissions were not to be considered against Caraballo. Even so, the hurdle set by Fed.R.Crim.P. 52(b) is high. See Olano, 507 U.S. at 732-37, 113 S.Ct. 1770. And here, Caraballo has fallen far short of demonstrating that any error was of a type subject to correction under Rule 52(b). 24 There never was any doubt that three men participated in the carjacking and killing at the heart of this case. The case against Caraballo thus did not turn on what happened; it largely turned on whether the government had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Caraballo was one of the three men who committed these crimes. In the end, the jury almost certainly credited Torres's testimony that Caraballo was one of the three men, and Martinez's testimony that Caraballo was one of the three men whom he saw exit Fontánez's Hyundai shortly after the carjacking. Lebrón's admissions — which with the exception discussed below never identified Caraballo as one of Lebrón's co-perpetrators (which distinguishes Caraballo's situation from that of the defendant in Sauza-Martinez, see 217 F.3d at 761) — almost certainly had no bearing on the jury's decision to credit this testimony. The absence of a limiting instruction thus did not affect Caraballo's substantial rights. See Olano, 507 U.S. at 735, 113 S.Ct. 1770. 25 By contrast, the testimony that spurred Caraballo's motion for a mistrial did identify Caraballo as one of Lebrón's co-perpetrators. But as we have recently explained: When a witness strays into forbidden territory, the usual remedy is to strike the wayward remark and instruct the jury to disregard it.... In all but the rare case, that remedy, if properly executed, will suffice to safeguard the aggrieved party's rights. United States v. Lee, 317 F.3d 26, 35 (1st Cir.2003). Here, as in Lee, the district court promptly struck the testimony and instructed the jury to ignore it. And here, as in Lee, the court's refusal to order a mistrial was within its discretion. See id. Factors similar to those mentioned by the Lee panel in support of its ruling guide our analysis. 26 First, the witness's reference to Caraballo was largely cumulative of Torres's far more direct and damning testimony that Caraballo was one of the carjackers and Martinez's testimony that Caraballo was one of the men who exited Fontánez's Hyundai. See id. True, Torres did not identify Caraballo as a shooter, as did the witness. But from the jury's perspective, the identities of the shooters were immaterial to whether they were guilty of the carjacking and weapons charges for which they were indicted. Second, the remark appears to have been entirely accidental and was in no way invited by improper government questioning. See id. Third, the district court quickly struck the remark and told the jury to disregard it in language with which Caraballo has never taken issue. See id. Finally, the record provides no reason for us to disregard the presumption that jurors follow their instructions. See id. In sum, here (as in Lee ), the errant comment, while unfortunate, was not a difference maker.