Opinion ID: 733247
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Allegedly Improper Cross-examination of Defense Witness Thomas Salmon

Text: 45 Burns claims that he was deprived of a fair trial by the prosecutor's cross-examination of defense witness Thomas Salmon, an attorney who had formerly served as governor of Vermont. Burns called Salmon to the stand as a character witness to testify about Burns' reputation for truthfulness. 46 On cross-examination, the prosecutor asked Salmon a number of questions concerning his knowledge of a libel case filed by Burns' then-wife, Linda Burns. In that libel action, Linda Burns sought money damages from a newspaper that had published an account of an anonymous accusation--which apparently was never substantiated--that Linda Burns improperly used a state credit card during Burns' tenure as lieutenant governor. 47 Burns argues that by questioning Salmon about this issue, the prosecutor was attempting improperly to introduce evidence of prior bad acts. Burns argues that these questions were in contravention of Fed.R.Evid. 404(b), as well as the prosecutor's explicit promise, stated on the record before trial, to consult with the judge before attempting to introduce evidence of prior bad acts. 48 The government responds that it was not attempting to introduce evidence of a prior bad act by Burns. Instead, the government insists that it was exploring the basis of Salmon's testimony about Burns' good character by eliciting whether Salmon was aware that Burns had been involved in this earlier episode. The government submits that Salmon's testimony that he did not recall the details of this incident gave the jury a basis for considering the weight of [Salmon's] character testimony about Burns. We agree that the prosecutor's questions were not aimed at impeaching Burns with prior bad acts. 49 Even assuming that they were, however, defense counsel objected to the questioning, and Judge McAuliffe promptly sustained the objection, curing any conceivable prejudice. See United States v. Abrams, 427 F.2d 86, 89 (2d Cir.1970). We concur with the district court's conclusion that the challenged portions of the prosecutor's cross-examination of Salmon do not rise to the level of prosecutorial misconduct. 50 Burns also argues that the prosecutor, by asking Salmon about allegations made about Mr. Burns concerning the use of a state credit card for his personal business intentionally misled the jury into believing that Burns, and not Linda Burns, was the subject of the controversy. While the prosecutor's question was not framed as precisely as it might have been, it cannot be disputed that, whatever the merits of the allegation, it did involve Burns, in whose name the state credit card was issued, and who was ultimately responsible for its use. The prosecutor did not mislead the jury in this regard. 51