Opinion ID: 797722
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: refusal to admit private investigator's statement

Text: 157 My final disagreement with the majority opinion lies in its conclusion that the district court did not commit reversible error by excluding from evidence a private investigator's statement that Gordon told him that she had never seen Joseph Arnold with a gun that day. In reaching its conclusion, the majority opinion applies plain-error analysis. This approach is highly speculative, as the record demonstrates that Arnold's counsel brought to the court's attention the error in not admitting the private investigator's statement, which is all that is necessary for the harmless-error standard to apply. Compare FED.R.CRIM.P. 52(a) with FED. R.CRIM.P. 52(b). It is true that Arnold's counsel did not specifically mention Federal Rule of Evidence 806 as the basis for admitting the testimony. But such a specific ground is necessary only when a party objects to the admission of evidence. FED.R.EVID. 103(a)(1). When, as here, a party challenges the exclusion of evidence, it is sufficient that the basis for admissibility be apparent from the context. United States v. Ganier, 468 F.3d 920, 924 (6th Cir.2006). 11 Because the district court knew that Arnold sought to introduce testimony that Gordon told a private investigator that Arnold never possessed a gun that day and because it was apparent that Arnold intended to attack Gordon's credibility with this evidence, I believe that harmless-error review should apply. 158 Assuming arguendo that we should review only for plain error, I cannot conclude that this error did not seriously affect the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of the judicial proceedings. Gordon's statements that Arnold threatened her with a gun constituted the only evidence tying Arnold to the gun found in the car. Setting aside the constitutional infirmity of convicting a defendant upon such insufficient evidence, see supra Part I, I cannot see how denying the defendant the right to introduce evidence that Gordon later recanted these statements could do anything but affect the fairness and integrity of Arnold's trial. For this reason, I would hold that Arnold has demonstrated that the district court's decision to exclude the investigator's statement was plain error, and remand for a new trial.