Opinion ID: 167135
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mr. Leonard's prescription medication history

Text: 18 Mr. Leonard also claims that the district court should have ordered redaction of the two-year old prescription medication history and the label from a prescription filled in November 2003, five months after the accident. He claims that the evidence was both irrelevant and unfairly prejudicial. We find no error in the district court's admission of the unredacted evidence. 19 Blood tested shortly after the accident revealed that Mr. Leonard had consumed numerous prescription drugs, including Xanax and Valium. To establish malice aforethought, the government offered testimony that Mr. Leonard was aware that one of the side effects of these medications is to cause drowsiness, but that he disregarded that risk. The prescription records were introduced to show that Mr. Leonard had been taking prescription drugs for a significant period of time before the accident, making it more likely that he was aware of the side effects. The records, even from two years before the accident, were therefore relevant to Mr. Leonard's mental state. 20 The government offered the prescription drug label from November 2003 because the pharmacist's computer system could not retrieve labels from an earlier date. The pharmacist testified that the warnings were identical to those on the prescriptions Mr. Leonard received before the accident. The label was offered to show the warnings affixed to the prescription bottles, not to show that Mr. Leonard continued to take prescription medication after the accident. That the labels contained warnings makes it more probable that Mr. Leonard knew there was a substantial risk associated with driving while medicated, and that he disregarded that risk. Accordingly, the drug label from November 2003 was also relevant. 21 Mr. Leonard argues that admission of this evidence was unfairly prejudicial under Rule 403 because it likely led to confusion of the issues. However, the evidence was highly probative as to Mr. Leonard's knowledge of the side effects of the medication and Mr. Leonard has not explained how this evidence confused the issues. We do not understand why knowledge that Mr. Leonard's drug use was by prescription, and therefore lawful, would be prejudicial. The district court has considerable discretion in performing the Rule 403 balancing test, Tan, 254 F.3d at 1211, and we discern no reason to disturb the district court's conclusion.