Opinion ID: 197677
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Admission of Harmon's Testimony.

Text: 55 The appellant also cries foul in respect to a statement made at trial by David Harmon, a Treasury Department official, to the effect that the U.S. embargo against Libya resulted from a presidential determination that Libya supports international terrorism. Because the appellant did not lodge a contemporaneous objection to this testimony, we ordinarily would review his belated challenge for plain error. See United States v. Griffin, 818 F.2d 97, 99-100 (1st Cir.1987). Here, however, the circumstances obviate any need to engage in plain error review. See United States v. Castro-Lara, 970 F.2d 976, 981 n. 5 (1st Cir.1992) (explaining that, if no error inheres, plain error review becomes a superfluous step). 56 The government called Harmon to establish the existence and effect of the economic sanctions imposed against Libya. Harmon's description of the purpose behind the embargo provided the jury with relevant background information that helped to stitch together an appropriate context in which the jury could assess the evidence introduced during the trial. Admitting Harmon's statement was well within the realm of the district court's discretion. See, e.g., Castro-Lara, 970 F.2d at 981; United States v. Daly, 842 F.2d 1380, 1388 (2d Cir.1988). Trials are meaty affairs, and appellate courts should not insist that all taste be extracted from a piece of evidence before a jury can chew on it. 57