Opinion ID: 158832
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Demonstrative Evidence

Text: 12 This court will reverse a trial court's receipt of demonstrative evidence only for an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Birch, 39 F.3d 1089, 1092 (10th Cir. 1994). The government introduced into evidence a rifle similar to the one charged in the indictment, because the government never recovered the charged rifle. Unlike the charged rifle, however, the demonstrative rifle had a bayonet affixed to it and a slightly longer barrel. Bluma and Comer identified the demonstrative rifle as similar to the one which Bluma purchased from Comer while Adkins was present. Additionally, Bluma's neighbor, Will Kolterman, testified Adkins had come to his home carrying what Adkins called an SKS rifle, and Kolterman identified the demonstrative rifle as similar to the one Adkins carried that day. Both Comer and Kolterman pointed out to the jury that although the demonstrative rifle had a bayonet affixed to it, the firearm they had seen with Adkins did not. Adkins now asserts admission of the demonstrative rifle was error because it was not relevant for any permissible purposes, being only introduced to inflame the prejudices of the jury. 3 13 As in this case, the government in United States v. Hamilton charged the defendant with violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), the indictment alleging Hamilton illegally possessed a .38 caliber revolver. See 992 F.2d 1126 (10th Cir. 1993) In rejecting Hamilton's argument that the government failed to prove he possessed the charged revolver, this court stated, [T]he government merely had to produce evidence at trial from which the jury could find beyond a reasonable doubt that [the] [d]efendant had [possessed] a firearm . . . and was not required to prove that the firearm was a .38 caliber revolver. Id. at 1130. Therefore, although the government need not prove Adkins possessed the charged rifle itself, the demonstrative rifle was relevant to demonstrate Adkins possessed some firearm. 14 Specifically, the demonstrative firearm was relevant to the credibility of Kolterman, who claimed to have seen Adkins holding a rifle. Adkins testified and his defense counsel argued in closing that Adkins never possessed the firearm and that Kolterman lied about seeing Adkins with a rifle. By having Kolterman identify the demonstrative rifle as similar to the one which he claimed Adkins possessed while pointing out the differences and eliciting an entirely consistent description of the demonstrative and charged rifles from Bluma and Comer, the government substantially negated the possibility that Kolterman had offered perjured testimony. In addition, the jury could better determine whether this witness in fact saw Adkins holding a rifle by viewing the size and shape of a firearm very similar to the one which Kolterman testified he saw in Adkins' hands. See United States v. McIntosh, 23 F.3d 1454, 1456 (8th Cir. 1994) (upholding admission of demonstrative firearm because it assisted jury in assessing witness credibility). Finally, by more definitively establishing that Adkins possessed the rifle at Kolterman's home, the government strengthened the inference that Adkins in fact carried the firearm from Comer's store to Bluma's vehicle. The demonstrative rifle was thus relevant for these permissible purposes. 15 Rule 403 states in relevant part, Although relevant, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice . . . . Fed. R. Evid. 403. This court has repeatedly warned that Rule 403 is an extraordinary remedy and should be used sparingly. Wheeler v. John Deere Co., 862 F.2d 1404, 1408 (10th Cir. 1988) (quotation omitted); see also United States v. Rodriguez, 192 F.3d 946, 949 (10th Cir. 1999) (quoting Wheeler's cautionary language). The demonstrative rifle had significant probative value, as its introduction bolstered the credibility of three key witnesses Bluma, Comer, and Kolterman. In addition, though surely it would have been preferable for the government to use an identical rifle to the one which Adkins allegedly possessed, the government did reduce substantially the danger of any unfair prejudice by itself eliciting testimony that noted the discrepancies between the charged rifle and the demonstrative one. Therefore, even if the slightly longer barrel and the attached bayonet might be claimed to have inflamed unnecessarily the jury's prejudice, the danger of such prejudice did not substantially outweigh the probative value of this evidence, and thus, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the rifle's introduction.