Opinion ID: 2822110
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Agent James

Text: Unlike with Officer Vázquez, there was an objection to the district court's decision to allow Agent James to elaborate and clarify his testimony. Accordingly, our review is for abuse of discretion. Rosado-Pérez, 605 F.3d at 54.
Agent James was called as part of Christopher's case-inchief in an attempt to discredit Rivas, one of the government's cooperating witnesses. Rivas had testified during the government's case that Christopher was a leader of the organization, but in a pre-trial interview with Agent James, Rivas had not named Christopher when listing the organization's leadership. Accordingly, Christopher's attorney asked the agent to read a paragraph from his interview report which had memorialized the conversation. After reading the paragraph, Agent James attempted to clarify the report. He explained (over Christopher's objection) that while the report reflected Rivas's initial interview, he of course corroborated this with other intelligence. He then proceeded to summarize this intelligence: AGENT JAMES: [Rivas] did not know the name of this individual, but did identify his nickname as Negro. If I can provide some context to the Court. COURT: Sure. -40- AGENT JAMES: In these initial interviews, I had a binder that showed different pictures, and so I'd just show it and they would identify. So this is the number two of the ones whom I showed him whom Carlos Rivas identified. So number two, he did not know the name of the individual, but identified his nickname as Negro. Negro is known to us as -- by law enforcement as Christopher Laureano Pérez. Negro is the other leader of the Residential Villas De Monterrey. Negro frequents Residential Villas De Monterrey more than Miguel. He visits Villas De Monterrey approximately three times a week or more. Miguel only visits approximately two times a week. He gives orders to the drug point. Negro is armed with a .50 caliber pistol. He saw him firing it on New Year's Eve. Negro was shooting it into the air. Previously, some enemies of Residential Villas De Monterrey tried to kill Negro and his children in order to take over the Residential Villas De Monterrey drug point. Negro drives a black Toyota Carolla [sic], and also rides a gray and black scooter. He has a house probably in Naranjito or Barranquitas.
Harmless Unlike Officer Vázquez's testimony, this testimony was potentially problematic for two reasons. First, Agent James made clear that he was not testifying about his personal knowledge of Negro but rather was summarizing everything the investigation had uncovered. Second, the context he provided was well beyond the scope of the question asked. Whether this qualifies as improper overview testimony, however, is a determination we need not make because any error that -41- may have occurred was harmless. Agent James testified as part of Christopher's case-in-chief, well after the government had already rested. Thus, most -- if not all -- of the evidence Agent James referred to had already been introduced by other witnesses. At the very least, the government had provided evidence that Christopher and Negro were the same person and that there had been an attempt on Christopher's life. Given the timing of this testimony and the fact that the same evidence had previously been properly introduced, we are confident that this testimony did not affect the verdict, and thus the error was harmless. See United States v. Hall, 434 F.3d 42, 57 (1st Cir. 2006) (distinguishing other cases involving improper overview testimony in part because the officer did not testify until near the end of the government's case-inchief); Casas, 356 F.3d at 121 (explaining that the admission of improper testimony is harmless if it is highly probable that the error did not influence the verdict).