Opinion ID: 307845
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: rulings on the evidence

Text: 25 Kahn (but not Teleprompter) has attacked five specific evidentiary rulings by Judge Motley. In each instance, he claims that the ruling unfairly restricted him in presenting his basic extortion defense. We find no error in the rulings, either individually or collectively. 26
27 Judge Motley excluded an offer of proof that Kahn claims would have established Tompkins' habitual corruption. The proof would have shown that one Cornelius, now deceased, had made collections from billiard parlors, card games, and local clubs, in order that these activities might remain in business. The proof would have shown that Cornelius' driver picked him up at City Hall daily, drove him on his rounds, and always dropped him off at City Hall. Kahn claims that this conduct is traceable to the mayor, and buttresses his extortion defense. 28 Judge Motley's exclusion of the proof was an appropriate exercise of her discretion. First of all, there was no clear link between Cornelius' alleged conduct and Tompkins. Moreover, the offer presented the very real danger of degenerating into a side trial, both to determine whether the collections actually occurred, and to determine whether the mayor was behind this activity. Much as Kahn would have preferred that this trial be one of Tompkins, not himself, the proffered evidence seems clearly collateral and of doubtful probative value. 29 Recognizing the dangers of confusing the jury with collateral issues, we have recently emphasized the general rule that prior misconduct of a witness not resulting in a conviction is inadmissible as direct proof. United States v. DeSapio, 456 F.2d 644, 648 n. 1 (2d Cir. 1972); United States v. Glasser, 443 F.2d 994, 1003 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 854, 92 S.Ct. 96, 30 L.Ed.2d 95 (1971). That rule has particular relevance here, where the misconduct is not clearly linked to the relevant witness. Under the circumstances of this case, Judge Motley did not err in excluding this evidence. 6 30
31 Systems. 32 At the December 21 and 28, 1965 meetings of the Johnstown City Council, representatives of five concerns announced that they were interested in bidding. Two of these prospective bidders were not named at the meetings; the other three were Trans Video Company of Barnesboro, Pa., All State Cable Company of Ridgeway and Doylestown, Pa., and Johnstown Traction Company. 33 At trial, Kahn offered to show that neither All State nor Trans Video had a telephone listed under those names during 1965-67; and that All State did not operate a cable system in Doylestown. 7 Judge Motley excluded the evidence. Kahn now argues that the proof would have demonstrated that these two bidders did not exist, and that they were part of Tompkins' plot to extort money from Teleprompter. 34 We find no error in Judge Motley's ruling. Even assuming arguendo that failure of a company to have a phone number under its precise corporate name is probative of nonexistence, the other premises do not follow. First of all, there was no evidence to link this alleged sham up to Tompkins, who stated on the stand that he knew nothing of these two firms before the date of the bidding. Second, when the time for actual bidding, February 1, 1966, did arrive, each of the three companies made formal bids-Johnstown Traction's accompanied by a bid bond and All State's by a $10,000 check. In addition, C.A.T.V. Corporation of Pittsburgh submitted a formal bid. Finally, Kahn makes no claim that Johnstown Traction or the Pittsburgh firm did not exist. The possibility of the mayor's use of phony firms to blackmail Teleprompter is greatly lessened, if not negated, by the actual submission of bids by these firms and by the involvement of admittedly genuine corporations in the entire process. 35 In short, the evidence was not truly probative on the extortion issue, and even if probative, was clearly collateral. The trial court quite properly exercised its discretion in excluding it. See generally C. McCormick, Evidence Sec. 152 at 319-20 (1954); United States v. Bowe, 360 F.2d 1, 15 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 385 U.S. 961, 87 S.Ct. 401, 17 L.Ed.2d 306 (1966). 36
37 On direct examination and on cross-examination by Kahn, Deardorff testified about the January 24, 1966 meeting at the Holiday Inn. During further cross-examination by Teleprompter, Deardorff said that he could not recall whether any bids were in before that January 24 meeting. Counsel for Teleprompter attempted to pursue the issue, but Judge Motley cut him off: He says he doesn't recall. . . . Proceed. 38 Kahn then attempted to pursue this line on recross. Judge Motley, consistent with her previous ruling, refused to allow the questioning. Kahn now claims that had he been allowed to proceed, Deardorff would have admitted that the bids were in fact in at the time of the meeting, which would have shown that the rendezvous took place after February 1. This, in turn, would have buttressed Kahn's claim that the payments were not promised until February 10. 39 It is a basic principle that a trial judge has extensive discretion in controlling the scope and length of cross-examination. See, e. g., Alford v. United States, 282 U.S. 687, 694, 51 S.Ct. 218, 75 L.Ed. 624 (1931); United States v. Dorfman, 470 F.2d 246 (2d Cir., 1972). The basic rule would seem to apply with special force to recross, especially after a full and searching cross-examination. Cf. Turner v. United States, 441 F.2d 736 (5th Cir. 1971). Here, there was clearly no abuse of Judge Motley's discretion. Kahn's argument is based on the sheer conjecture that, given recross, Deardorff would have broken down and changed his story. While we doubt that such speculation can ever justify extended recross, the evidence in this case makes such a course particularly inappropriate. Deardorff testified that the meeting took place at the Holiday Inn, and both Tompkins and Kahn, not to mention the motel records, put the date of this encounter at January 24. Moreover, Deardorff testified that he promised Kahn his vote at the meeting, and that Kahn had tried to cancel the bidding. Neither of those statements is consistent with a meeting after February 1, when the bidding had occurred and the votes were in. 40
41 Tompkins. 42 As part of the defense, Paul Malinowsky, a Johnstown City Councilman, testified. Part of his testimony would have been that the mayor had said several weeks earlier, I'll tell you one thing, if I am going to go down, everybody is going to go down with me. Judge Motley excluded that statement as an attempt to impeach a witness through collateral matters. 43 Kahn, citing cases that hold that bias is never a collateral matter, e. g., United States v. Haggett, 438 F.2d 396 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 402 U.S. 946, 91 S.Ct. 1638, 29 L.Ed.2d 115 (1971), claims that the statement exposed Tompkins as vindictive, and showed his clear motive to lie on the stand. But, at least on its face, the excluded statement is not convincing evidence of bias. The more likely reading of the words, as the government suggests, is simply that Tompkins, once exposed, was going to make a full disclosure and make sure that his coconspirators did not escape their just deserts. Given the ambiguous nature of the proffered statement, its exclusion was not error. 44 Moreover, we note that Tompkins was never confronted with the statement on cross-examination. Professor Wigmore has suggested that the same reasons of fairness that require that a witness be given an opportunity to explain away a prior inconsistent statement also apply when the utterance is claimed to show bias, Wigmore, Evidence Sec. 953 (Chadbourne rev. 1970), and a number of courts have agreed. Smith v. United States, 283 F.2d 16, 20-21 (6th Cir. 1960), cert. denied, 365 U.S. 847, 81 S.Ct. 808, 5 L.Ed.2d 811; United States v. White, 225 F.Supp. 514, 519-521 (D.D.C.1963), rev'd on other grounds, 121 U.S.App.D.C. 287, 349 F.2d 965 (1965). We noted our approval of this rule in United States v. Hayutin, 398 F.2d 944, 953 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 393 U.S. 961, 89 S.Ct. 400, 21 L.Ed.2d 374 (1968), and we reiterate that approval today. While we hold that exclusion of the statement under any event was not reversible error, the proper course should have been to confront Tompkins with it on cross-examination, to allow him to explain or deny it. Such a procedure is especially desirable in a case like this, where the utterance is ambiguous on its face, and where confrontation may aid in interpretation. 45 E. Judge Motley's Refusal to Give an Advisory Ruling On the 46 Scope of the Government's Cross-examination of 47 Kahn. 48 Prior to the beginning of the trial, the government indicated that it hoped to offer evidence with respect to a payment of $50,000 in 1968 by Teleprompter to city officials in Trenton, New Jersey. Judge Motley ruled that the prejudicial effect of such evidence would outweigh its probative value, and she excluded it. She refused, however, to give an advance ruling about whether this evidence could be used in cross-examination if Kahn took the stand, saying that in some cases it might be proper. 49 Kahn never took the stand. He now claims that Judge Motley's refusal to rule out cross-examination on the point was error, and that it was this ruling that prevented him from testifying in his own defense. 50 While we have made it clear that a trial judge has the power to give an advance ruling on the permissible scope of cross-examination, United States v. Palumbo, 401 F.2d 270 (2d Cir. 1968), cert. denied, 394 U.S. 947, 89 S.Ct. 1281, 22 L.Ed.2d 480 (1969), it is also clear that such highly discretionary adjudications will not be reversed unless the wisdom of so doing is very clear. Id. at 274; Brooke v. United States, 128 U.S.App.D.C. 19, 385 F.2d 279, 286 (1967). We have explicitly refused to turn the Palumbo rule of discretion into one of compulsion, and have indeed emphasized that the trial court's power to limit cross-examination is often best exercised after hearing the direct testimony of the witnesses. United States v. Evanchik, 413 F.2d 950, 953 (2d Cir. 1969); United States v. Crisona, 416 F.2d 107, 117 (2d Cir. 1969), cert. denied, 397 U.S. 961, 90 S.Ct. 991, 25 L.Ed.2d 253 (1970); United States v. Cacchillo, 416 F.2d 231, 234 (2d Cir. 1969). Judge Motley's actions here clearly fall far short of constituting an abuse of discretion.