Opinion ID: 3026413
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Hawkins’s Evidentiary Challenges

Text: Hawkins next challenges a string of the District Court’s evidentiary rulings. First, he argues that the evidence the government presented that mentioned Al Sharpton should have been excluded. For instance, in the government’s opening statement it stated: Where is a source of money? La-Van Hawkins is 58 looking for big public pension funds, and to get access to the money in big public pension funds Mr. Hawkins knows you need to have access to public officials. You will hear that is exactly what La-Van Hawkins tries to do. He tries to do it through Reverend Al Sharpton in the city of New York. In Philadelphia, he tries to do it through Ron White. . . . (App. at 1527.) Hawkins argues that this and all subsequent references to Sharpton were irrelevant and thus inadmissible under Fed. R. Evid. 401. Alternatively, Hawkins argues that the evidence should have been excluded under Fed. R. Evid. 403 because any probative value that the evidence did have was “substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice.” “We review a district court’s decision to admit or exclude evidence for abuse of discretion, and such discretion is construed especially broadly in the context of Rule 403.” United States v. Mathis, 264 F.3d 321, 326-27 (3d Cir. 2001). Contrary to Hawkins’s assertion, the evidence involving Sharpton did have a “tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.” Fed. R. Evid. 401. As we have recognized, this standard is “not high.” United States v. Steele, 685 F.2d 793, 808 (3d Cir. 1982) (internal quotation marks omitted). At bottom, the government aimed to prove that Hawkins joined a conspiracy to corrupt Kemp. The evidence concerning Hawkins’s efforts to cultivate a relationship with Sharpton emphasized Hawkins’s interest in fostering ties with politically active individuals, and was thus probative as to Hawkins’s intent in working with White and directing money to Kemp. The evidence could have allowed a jury to conclude that it was less likely that the first payment to Kemp was casually made at White’s direction, that the second payment was not intended for Kemp at all, and that Hawkins was generally indifferent toward Kemp’s position, because the evidence concerning Sharpton helped show just how determinedly Hawkins wooed those with political connections and his willingness to convey money to them. Of course, this evidence alone does not prove Hawkins’s guilt on any count, but as the notes to Rule 401 explain, “a brick is not a wall.” Fed. R. 59 Evid. 401 advisory committee’s note (internal quotation marks omitted). Moreover, Hawkins has failed to present any authority for his novel position that Sharpton’s name alone is so prejudicial that the infrequent references to it substantially outstripped the probative value of this evidence. Further, the District Court minimized the possibility of prejudice by explicitly instructing the jury that: “The government is not alleging anything wrong at all regarding the efforts of La-Van Hawkins, Ronald White, and Al Sharpton concerning New York pension funds. There is no suggestion of illegality as to any recorded conversations you heard played during the government’s case-in-chief pertaining to Al Sharpton . . . .” (App. at 10593-94.) Accordingly, we conclude that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the evidence under either Rule 401 or 403. Second, Hawkins argues that the testimony of representatives of Blockbuster, BET, Pizza Hut, and Burger King, all of whom contradicted claims that Hawkins made before the grand jury about his great wealth,20 should have been excluded under Rule 404(b). In order to be admissible under Fed. R. Evid. 404(b), the evidence of other acts must: “(1) have a proper evidentiary purpose, (2) be relevant under Rule 402, (3) satisfy Rule 403 (i.e., not be substantially more prejudicial than 20 Specifically, Bradley Himmeger, the Blockbuster representative, testified that despite Hawkins’s testimony that he owned 55 Blockbuster Video stores, Hawkins actually owned zero. H. Van Sinclair, a representative of BET, testified that contrary to Hawkins’s claim that he was a partner of Bob Johnson in the sale of BET for $3.5 billion, the two men were not partners and Hawkins was not involved in the sale. Pizza Hut representative John Murphy contradicted Hawkins’s claim that he had sold 127 restaurants back to Pizza Hut by testifying that Hawkins had returned 72 restaurants to Pizza Hut and had actually paid Pizza Hut $50,000 to take the debt-ridden restaurants off his hands. Finally, W. Barry Blum, a representative of Burger King, testified that Hawkins received only $95,000 when he sold restaurants to Burger King, not, as Hawkins had claimed, $35 million. 60 probative), and (4) be accompanied by a limiting instruction, when requested pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 105, that instructs the jury not to use the evidence for an improper purpose.” United States v. Cross, 308 F.3d 308, 320-21 (3d Cir. 2002) (footnote omitted). Hawkins argues that this evidence was offered for an improper purpose and that its probative value was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. We review the District Court’s judgments for abuse of discretion. United States v. Mastrangelo, 172 F.3d 288, 295 (3d Cir. 1999). As explained below, we conclude that the District Court acted within its discretion. Hawkins first argues that this evidence was not presented for a proper purpose, because it was offered to persuade the jury that because Hawkins had lied to the grand jury on other occasions, he must have been guilty of the perjury charges. To show a proper purpose, “the government must ‘clearly articulate how that evidence fits into a chain of logical inferences’ without adverting to a mere propensity to commit crime now based on the commission of crime then.” Id. (quoting United States v. Sampson, 980 F.2d 883, 887 (3d Cir. 1992)). We are unpersuaded by Hawkins’s argument on this point. The government argues that it introduced this evidence to demonstrate Hawkins’s consciousness of his guilt of the underlying charges, which we have recognized is a proper purpose under Rule 404(b). See United States v. Gatto, 995 F.2d 449, 455 (3d Cir. 1993) (explaining that testimony was “admissible under Rule 404(b) . . . to show consciousness of guilt”); see also United States v. Rajewski, 526 F.2d 149, 158 (7th Cir. 1975) (“It is well-settled that untrue exculpatory statements may be considered as circumstantial evidence of the defendant’s consciousness of guilt.”). Throughout Hawkins’s grand jury testimony, Hawkins defended his conduct essentially by arguing that he was too wealthy to deign to involve himself in the paltry corruption alleged in the case. For instance, after being asked whether Hawkins was concerned that providing money to Kemp constituted money laundering, Hawkins responded: “Well, no ma’am, for the simple reason money laundering is – first of all, because I had businesses all my money came from. I made all my money from legitimate 61 sources. As a matter of fact I sold Checkers for 50 million dollars and returned Burger King for 35 million dollars. So I’ve never had any reason to launder money.” (App. at 14815.) This response is illustrative of the general tenor of Hawkins’s grand jury testimony, in which he sought to equate wealth with innocence.21 Thus, the government’s evidence disproving these claims of vast wealth effectively impeached what Hawkins presented as an (unusual form of) alibi. We also agree with the government that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in determining that the evidence was admissible under Rule 403. See United States v. Jemal, 26 F.3d 1267, 1272 (3d Cir. 1994) (“If judicial self-restraint is ever desirable, it is when a Rule 403 analysis of a trial court is reviewed by an appellate tribunal.” (internal quotation marks omitted)). Given that we have frequently approved district courts’ decisions to admit previous drug convictions against defendants in subsequent drug prosecutions, see Sampson, 980 F.2d at 887 (“There is no question that, given a proper purpose 21 Similarly, after a grand juror asked Hawkins whether, during the meeting with Khan, White, and Kemp, he discussed using the Philadelphia pension funds to finance one of his endeavors, Hawkins immediately harkened to his wealth. He answered: No. As a matter of fact to be perfectly honest with you my partner is Bob Johnson. We own BET for 3.5 billion dollars. So back in 2002 we sold it as a matter of fact to Viacom. So you know Bob Johnson is a partner of mines, Ted Turner has been a partner of mines. So we’ve got Leonard Greenwood. We got five different companies that because I’ve been so success[ful] in the fast food business that I have partners that raise eight, nine billion dollars in private placement that’s what we’re going to do. We were putting, 250 million dollars was going to be used in equity and the rest of the money was going to be raised by Merrill Lynch. They’re going to handle the debt. (App. at 14822-23.) 62 and reasoning, drug convictions are admissible in a trial where the defendant is charged with a drug offense.”), it cannot be, as Hawkins argues, that the similarity between his other conduct and charged conduct necessarily causes unfair prejudice. Because evidence of Hawkins’s consciousness of guilt was of high probative value to the government’s case, Hawkins faces a high hurdle in showing that the danger of unfair prejudice substantially outweighed the probative value. See Cross, 308 F.3d at 325 (“‘Rule 403 . . . does not generally require the government to sanitize its case, to deflate its witnesses’ testimony, or to tell its story in a monotone.’” (quoting United States v. Gartmon, 146 F.3d 1015, 1021 (D.C. Cir. 1998)). While Hawkins attempts to surmount this hurdle by arguing that the government presented this evidence to convince the jury that Hawkins had committed crimes because of financial distress, we are not persuaded. See, e.g., United States ex rel. Mertz v. State of N.J., 423 F.2d 537, 541-42 (3d Cir. 1970) (recognizing this danger). There is a substantial difference between financial distress and not reaping huge profits from transactions, and the District Court took care to protect Hawkins from the evidence of the former by rejecting the government’s attempt to impeach Hawkins’s statement that he was a multi-millionaire.22 We thus conclude that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in determining that the evidence was admissible under Rules 403 and 404.23 22 The District Court also limited the extent that financial information could be admitted by requiring that the evidence be presented succinctly and without confusing the jury. 23 We recognize that several courts of appeals have concluded that evidence of consciousness of guilt is intrinsic to the charged offense, and thus outside Rule 404. For instance, in United States v. Simmons, 470 F.3d 1115, 1124-25 (5th Cir. 2006), the Fifth Circuit permitted the government to introduce a defendant’s prior testimony that he had given in a state trial concerning an alleged sexual assault for the purpose of proving, through other evidence, that those statements were false. Id. at 1125. The court explained: Similarly, Simmons’ state-court testimony was not 63 Next, Hawkins argues that the District Court erred by admitting a letter found in Kemp’s home as a co-conspirator statement under Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(2)(E). The letter, which was dated March 20, 2002, and was addressed from Kemp to Hawkins, stated: “Let me take this opportunity to thank you for selecting me to serve in the capacity of a financial consultant for your company. I look forward to working and sharing my expertise with you in the very near future. Please feel free to contact me at your convenience.” (App. at 13944.) In order to admit a statement under Rule 801(d)(2)(E), a district court must find, by a preponderance of the evidence: “(1) that a conspiracy existed; (2) the declarant and the party against whom the statement is offered were members of the conspiracy; (3) the inadmissible under Rule 404(b) because it did not constitute a separate extrinsic bad act. The prior testimony was relevant to issues other than Simmons’ bad character. It was introduced not to show Simmons lied in the past, was a bad person, and, therefore, must have sexually assaulted Robinson; rather, it was introduced to show his consciousness of guilt and that he had lied in order to fabricate an alibi. Id.; see also United States v. Frost, 234 F.3d 1023, 1025 (8th Cir. 2000) (“Frost’s testimony is direct evidence of fraudulent intent and consciousness of guilt. It does not relate to ‘other acts,’ but rather constitutes evidence intrinsic to the overall scheme. Rule 404 is therefore inapplicable.”); United States v. Ramirez-Jiminez, 967 F.2d 1321, 1327 (9th Cir. 1992) (explaining evidence that defendant had lied to government agents when stopped during crime was “probative of his consciousness that his conduct was illegal” and therefore Rule 404(b) was inapplicable). However, we have previously approved the admission of evidence of consciousness of guilt under Rule 404. See Gatto, 995 F.2d at 455 (explaining that testimony was “admissible under Rule 404(b) . . . to show consciousness of guilt”). We thus follow our precedent and examine this issue under Rule 404. Given that we have concluded that consciousness of guilt is a proper purpose under Rule 404, however, our analysis converges with that used by the cases that hold Rule 404 inapplicable. 64 statement was made in the course of the conspiracy; and (4) the statement was made in furtherance of the conspiracy.” United States v. McGlory, 968 F.2d 309, 333 (3d Cir. 1992). We exercise plenary review over these findings. Id. We agree with the District Court that this letter was admissible against Hawkins as the statement of an alleged coconspirator. While Hawkins argues that the government failed to present any evidence besides this letter demonstrating that Hawkins and Kemp were members of a conspiracy, that is simply not true: just ten days before Kemp wrote this letter, he had accepted a $5,000 check from Hawkins. The transfer of money from Hawkins to Kemp could certainly have formed part of the alleged conspiracy. It does not matter whether or not Kemp actually mailed the letter to Hawkins, because its mere existence provided evidence that Kemp knew of the inappropriate nature of the $5,000 check from Hawkins. Accordingly, we will affirm the District Court’s admission of the letter. Finally, Hawkins argues that the District Court erred by admitting evidence concerning Kemp’s actual wedding date, arguing that this evidence is inadmissible under Rules 401 and 403. According to Hawkins, this evidence was irrelevant because he testified before the grand jury only that White told him that Kemp’s wedding had recently occurred, not that it actually had. As noted, “[w]e review a district court’s decision to admit or exclude evidence for abuse of discretion, and such discretion is construed especially broadly in the context of Rule 403.” Mathis, 264 F.3d at 326-27. Again, we conclude that the District Court acted within its discretion in admitting this evidence. As we have noted, Rule 401 does not set a high standard. See Steele, 685 F.2d at 808; see also Sampson, 980 F.2d at 888 (stating that “the burden [on the proponent of the evidence] is not onerous”). Just as evidence that Kemp had recently been married would have made it more probable that White had actually made this statement to Hawkins, the fact that Kemp had been married so long ago made it less probable. Moreover, Hawkins has failed to explain why this evidence was unfairly prejudicial to him. He was free to 65 present his explanation that notwithstanding the date of Kemp’s actual marriage, White had said that the $5,000 was for a wedding present, and he did so in his closing argument. Accordingly, we perceive no reason to conclude that the District Court abused its “very substantial discretion” in admitting this evidence. United States v. Ali, --- F.3d ----, 2007 WL 2049008 (3d Cir. 2007) (internal quotation marks omitted).