Opinion ID: 764769
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Admission of the Medina-Thompson Conversation Excerpt

Text: 113 Medina contends that the district court erred in refusing to allow him to introduce parts of the tape of his January 16, 1997 conversation with Thompson. The conversation was roughly 42 minutes long; the government offered in evidence only a 90-second portion of the tape near the beginning of the conversation, in which Thompson warned that the scheme in which Jackson was engaged constituted the federal crime of extortion. The excerpt was admitted as evidence of Medina's awareness of the unlawfulness of the extortion scheme. The court denied Medina's request that the remainder of the tape be admitted pursuant to the rule of completeness. We see no error in that denial. 114 Rule 106 of the Federal Rules of Evidence provides that 115 [w]hen a writing or recorded statement or part thereof is introduced by a party, an adverse party may require the introduction at that time of any other part or any other writing or recorded statement which ought in fairness to be considered contemporaneously with it. 116 Fed.R.Evid. 106. Under this principle, an omitted portion of a statement must be placed in evidence if necessary to explain the admitted portion, to place the admitted portion in context, to avoid misleading the jury, or to ensure fair and impartial understanding of the admitted portion. United States v. Castro, 813 F.2d 571, 575-76 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 844, 108 S.Ct. 137, 98 L.Ed.2d 94 (1987); see, e.g., Beech Aircraft Corp. v. Rainey, 488 U.S. 153, 172-73, 109 S.Ct. 439, 102 L.Ed.2d 445 (1988); Phoenix Associates III v. Stone, 60 F.3d 95, 102 (2d Cir.1995). The completeness doctrine does not, however, require the admission of portions of a statement that are neither explanatory of nor relevant to the admitted passages. See United States v. Marin, 669 F.2d 73, 84 (2d Cir.1982). The trial court's application of the rule of completeness is reviewed only for abuse of discretion. See, e.g., United States v. Castro, 813 F.2d at 576. 117 Medina argues that a jury hearing the tone and substance of Thompson's statements in later portions of the conversation would perceive Thompson to be exaggerating, overly emotional, or out of control, and would conclude that Medina had reason to discount her warning that Jackson's conduct was unlawful. The trial court, after listening to the tape, saw little probative value in the parts of the tape proffered by Medina, noting, inter alia, that the substance of Thompson's remarks in the remainder of the conversation was neither incredible nor bizarre, and that Thompson's tone was pretty calm and reasoned. (Tr. 1342-43.) The court also noted that the portions of the tape proffered by Medina consisted largely of Medina's own self-serving statements, which, as offered by him, are inadmissible hearsay. We see no abuse of discretion in the exclusion of the tape.