Opinion ID: 1355379
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Espinal's Motion for a New Trial

Text: We review the denial of a motion for a new trial for abuse of discretion. Kosmynka v. Polaris Industries, Inc., 462 F.3d 74, 82 (2d Cir.2006). Espinal raised the following arguments in support of his motion: (1) he was wearing prison attire at trial which caused him prejudice; (2) his request to have his sister testify as a rebuttal witness was improperly denied; (3) the district court should have given a curative instruction to the jury when defense counsel asked Espinal on cross-examination whether he had been convicted of murder and robbery; and (4) the jury verdict was against the weight of the evidence. The district court rejected those arguments. We find no error in the district court's denial of Espinal's motion. The district court reasonably determined that Espinal's clothing did not cause him prejudice because he was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt which looked like civilian clothing. It is highly unlikely that Espinal's clothing had an influence on the jury verdict. See Tesser v. Bd. of Educ. of City Sch. Dist. of City of New York, 370 F.3d 314, 319 (2d Cir.2004) (stating that the grant of a new trial depends on the likelihood that [an] error affected the outcome of the case (quotation marks omitted)). The district court acted within its discretion in precluding the rebuttal testimony of Espinal's sister. Espinal sought to introduce his sister's testimony to rebut defendants' testimony regarding the extent of Espinal's injuries. It was necessary, however, for Espinal to offer evidence of the extent of his injuries in his case in chief in order to show that he was subjected to a beating at the hands of the officers. Espinal did so by offering his medical records which were also read into evidence by defense witnesses. The district court reasonably found that evidence of Espinal's injuries was already placed before the jury and that the sister's testimony lacked impeachment value. Cf. Pitasi v. Stratton Corp., 968 F.2d 1558, 1561-62 (2d Cir.1992) (finding exclusion of testimony erroneous when it was unnecessary during the plaintiff's case in chief but material to the impeachment of defense witnesses). The district court also acted within his discretion in determining that defense counsel's question to Espinal during cross-examination, asking whether he was convicted of murder and robbery, did not warrant a curative instruction or a new trial. Espinal's counsel asked prospective jurors during voir dire about their thoughts regarding Espinal's murder conviction, and identified Espinal's murder conviction in his opening statement to the jury. Defense counsel was also permitted to explore Espinal's murder conviction on cross-examination. The district court accurately characterized the reference to a robbery conviction as comparably minor. Also, the jury was instructed that questions are not evidence and Espinal never answered the question. The reference to the robbery did not create undue prejudice or passion as to warrant a new trial. Matthews v. CTI Container Transp. Int'l, Inc., 871 F.2d 270, 278 (2d Cir.1989). Espinal's claim that the jury verdict was against the weight of the evidence is not reviewable on appeal. Stonewall Ins. Co. v. Asbestos Claims Mgmt. Corp., 73 F.3d 1178, 1199 (2d Cir.1995), modified on other grounds, 85 F.3d 49 (2d Cir.1996).