Opinion ID: 212690
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Instant Messages

Text: At trial, the Government introduced parts of an instant-message conversation between Crosgrove and his friend Brian Crawford. In these messages, Crawford complained about his financial situation, and Crosgrove responded: Well, like I said, if you want to get back to Toledo and abandon your morals, let me know. I have work for you. At trial, Crosgrove sought to introduce other instant-message conversations with Crawford in which he wrote that he had become convinced that the insurance setup was not a scam, but the Government argued that those non-inculpatory statements were hearsay not within any exception. (The admitted statements, although made out-of-court, were non-hearsay admissions of a party opponent.) Crosgrove argues that the common law rule of completeness compels admission of the remaining messages to allow him to put the admitted statements in context. The doctrine of completeness, partially codified in Federal Rule of Evidence 106, allows a party who is prejudiced by an opponent's introduction of part of a document, or a correspondence, or a conversation, to enter so much of the remainder as necessary to explain or rebut a misleading impression caused by the incomplete character of that evidence. United States v. Howard, 216 Fed.Appx. 463, 472-73 (6th Cir.2007) (internal citations and quotations omitted). This circuit has stated, however, that the doctrine does not make inadmissible evidence admissible. Id. (internal citations omitted); see also United States v. Costner, 684 F.2d 370, 373 (6th Cir.1982); United States v. Collicott, 92 F.3d 973, 983 (9th Cir.1996). Therefore, unless the messages Crosgrove sought to introduce were truly necessary to correct a misleading impression caused by the `incomplete character' of the portion of the statement admitted, the evidence was not admissible. Howard, 216 Fed.Appx. at 472. Here, the statements Crosgrove sought to introduce were part of an instant-message conversation that took place weeks before the one testified to by Crawford. Thus, the admission of the messages could not have been necessary to correct a misleading impression, and there was no error. Crosgrove argues that the court's refusal to allow him to introduce additional instant messages prevented him from testifying. Although the transcript does reflect that Crosgrove chose not to testify after the ruling on the instant messages, he has not explained why his decision not to testify resulted from the district court's ruling or why it should lead this court to depart from its interpretation of Rule 106. Therefore, the district court did not err in excluding the instant messages.