Opinion ID: 654620
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Thomas Miller.

Text: 57 The defendants next challenge the district court's grant of the government's motion in limine to curtail the cross-examination of Thomas Miller. Miller had a prior state-court misdemeanor conviction for unlawful use of a weapon for which he was placed on state-court supervision for one year. The supervision was subject to revocation in the event Miller was convicted of another crime. The defendants assert that the government did not file a petition to revoke the supervision, even though Miller had pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor for his role in the cross burnings. Had a petition been filed, the defendants contend that Miller would have faced a one-year state prison term. They claim Miller anticipated a benefit from the government in the form of the government not notifying the state about his federal misdemeanor conviction. As such, the defendants argue that they should have been able to question Miller on this point during cross-examination to challenge his credibility, motivation, interest, and bias. 58 The district court did not err in prohibiting the defendants from asking Miller about his prior state-court conviction. As the district court properly noted, the prior conviction could not have been introduced for purposes of attacking credibility because the conviction was a misdemeanor offense that did not involve dishonesty or false statement. Hayward, 772 F.Supp. at 404 (citing Federal Rule of Evidence 609(a)). 59 Furthermore, the district court did not abuse its discretion in ruling at trial that the testimony was inadmissible under Rule 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. The court found that the testimony had low probative value, that its prejudicial impact was great, and that it could confuse and mislead the jury. Granted, Miller was facing a possible one-year prison term for violating his supervision, but he faced eighteen years in jail for his role in the two cross burnings had he not cooperated with the government. Even if Miller expected the government not to tell the state about his federal conviction, that information would have had limited probative value when weighed against the real benefit Miller received from the government: not being charged with a federal felony in exchange for his agreement to testify against the defendants. 60 Also, as the district court pointed out, Miller's federal conviction was not a secret. It was part of the public record. Hayward, 772 F.Supp. at 404. Consequently, Miller was not completely protected from having his supervision revoked, even if the government had promised not to file a petition with the state. (The record does not demonstrate that the government made any such promise to Miller.) Thus, the district court rightly found at trial that Miller would not have been motivated to lie during his testimony to defeat a revocation of his supervision. If he did not cooperate with the government, he would have faced many years in a federal prison. If Miller were to lie in favor of the government, it would have been to prevent serving time for the federal felony charges, rather than to prevent serving one year for violating his state-court supervision. Cf.Delaware v. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673, 679, 106 S.Ct. 1431, 1435, 89 L.Ed.2d 674 (1986). 61 Significantly, the defendants had the opportunity during cross-examination to ask Miller about the deal he had made with the government to testify against the defendants to avoid being charged with a federal felony. The court also allowed the defendants to explore during cross-examination Miller's history of lying to law enforcement authorities during their investigation of this crime. Equally important, the defendants were able to question Miller about his testimony that he was prejudiced against black people. And, they were able to question him about his attendance at a Halloween party shortly after the cross burnings, at which he wore blackface makeup and dressed as the Buckwheat character from the Little Rascals movies. Around his neck was a rope tied as a noose. Richard Randall, donning a Ku Klux Klan outfit, accompanied Miller to the party and held the end of the rope that was around Miller's neck. 62 Because Miller took part in both cross burnings, he was a crucial government witness, whose testimony probably harmed the defendants the most. Realizing the damage Miller could do to their case, the defendants sought on cross-examination (and during their argument to the jury) to convince the jury that it was not them, but Miller who was behind the two cross burnings. They also attempted to show the jury that Miller was a bald-faced liar and that he had made an arrangement with the government to save himself to the detriment of the defendants. 63 We conclude that the leeway the district court gave the defendants on cross-examination was sufficient to allow the jury to evaluate the defendants' theory of defense as well as to permit the defendants sufficient opportunities to bring the value of Miller's testimony into doubt. SeeMuhammad, 928 F.2d at 1467; Cameron, 814 F.2d at 406. Based on the testimony the jury heard during Miller's cross-examination, we cannot say that the jury might have had a significantly different impression of Miller's credibility, bias, interest, or motivation had they heard him testify about his state-court supervision. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. at 680, 106 S.Ct. at 1436; cf.Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 317-20, 94 S.Ct. 1105, 1111-12, 39 L.Ed.2d 347 (1974). Accordingly, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in preventing the defendants from asking Miller about his prior state-court misdemeanor conviction. [T]he Sixth Amendment only guarantees the defendant the opportunity for effective, not limitless, cross-examination. Muhammad, 928 F.2d at 1466. 64