Opinion ID: 197828
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Failure to Admit Evidence of Lockard's Conviction

Text: 29 The trial court ruled that evidence of Lockard's criminal misdemeanor conviction was inadmissible because its prejudicial effect substantially outweighed its probative value. See Fed.R.Evid. 403. The plaintiff asserts that this ruling was error. We review the district court's determination that the evidence of Lockard's conviction should have been excluded for abuse of discretion. See Kowalski v. Gagne, 914 F.2d 299, 306 (1st Cir.1990). 30 The plaintiff places undue reliance on Kowalski, a case which stands for the proposition that the district court has discretion to admit evidence such as this. See id. However, Kowalski does not support the notion that the district court abused its discretion in this case by failing to admit this evidence. Indeed, as Kowalski makes clear, the district court's decision that the evidence was substantially more prejudicial than probative was well within its discretion. See id. 31 Here, the jurors were presented with sufficient evidence to gauge the seriousness of Lockard's actions and their effect on the plaintiff. In addition to the testimony of the plaintiff and other witnesses, the episode was recorded by a television camera and the tape was made available for the jury to watch. The parties stipulated that Lockard was portraying the mascot Burnie throughout the incident. The jury did not need evidence of Lockard's criminal conviction to assess his role in the incident. Under the circumstances, admission of Lockard's criminal conviction would have allowed the jury to substitute the judgment reached in the criminal proceeding for its own. 32 Furthermore, even assuming arguendo that the exclusion of the evidence was error, the error had no effect on the outcome of the case. The only issue on which Lockard's conviction was probative was the issue of his liability for the plaintiff's injury. Both juries found Lockard liable for the plaintiff's injuries. Lockard's conviction had relevance neither to the issue of the plaintiff's injuries nor to the amount of damages necessary to compensate her for those injuries. 33 The plaintiff's reliance on Kowalski for the proposition that a criminal conviction is, as a matter of course, relevant to the issue of damages in an ensuing civil trial is also misplaced. Kowalski dealt with a Massachusetts wrongful death statute which provides that damages should be assessed with reference to the degree of [the defendant's] culpability. 914 F.2d at 306. For that reason, the defendant's conviction of the crime of second degree murder was relevant to the issue of culpability, and thus the issue of damages. See id. The plaintiff's cause of action here was for negligence and she was entitled only to compensatory damages. For these reasons, the district court did not abuse its discretion by failing to admit evidence of Lockard's conviction, and the plaintiff is not entitled to a new trial. 34