Opinion ID: 177273
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Admissibility of the Composition

Text: Notebooks Christie next says it was error for the District Court to admit into evidence the five composition notebooks seized from his home. He acknowledges that “excerpts from the notebooks” would have been admissible, but contends that admission of the notebooks in their entirety was unfairly prejudicial under 24 Federal Rule of Evidence 403. (Appellant’s Br. at 40.) Specifically, he contends that the notebooks were unnecessary in light of the other evidence that he possessed and advertised child pornography, and that the notebooks created a risk that the jury would convict solely based on them instead of considering whether any illegal images of child pornography could actually be linked to him. The notebooks were part and parcel of Christie’s trade in child pornography and directly link him to the screen name “franklee.” They show the lengths to which he went to make such material accessible, and they provide significant proof that he was not a mere possessor but acted as a facilitator and conduit for others to obtain child pornography. The probative value of the notebooks therefore clearly outweighed any danger of unfair prejudice, and the District Court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to exclude the notebooks under Rule 403.