Opinion ID: 2763468
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Admission of CD

Text: At trial the district court admitted into evidence a CD found in the apartment where Defendant was arrested. It was titled “Cokeland” by “Francis H. Whyte.” On the CD cover was a picture of Defendant pouring liquid from a liquor bottle into a measuring cup. An officer testified at trial that, in his experience, the image related to the manufacture of cocaine base. The CD was found in the kitchen on a counter next to three 17 baggies of white powder, a digital scale with white powder on it, and a box of baking soda. Defendant contends that the CD was inadmissible at trial. We review challenges to the admission of evidence for abuse of discretion, see United States v. Caraway, 534 F.3d 1290, 1300–01 (10th Cir. 2008), reversing only if the decision was “outside the bounds of permissible choice in the circumstances.” United States v. Shippley, 690 F.3d 1192, 1197 (10th Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks omitted). “[E]vidence is relevant if it has any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.” Caraway, 534 F.3d at 1301 (internal quotation marks omitted). A “court may[, however,] exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by a danger of . . . unfair prejudice.” Fed. R. Evid. 403. “To be unfairly prejudicial, the evidence must have an undue tendency to suggest decision on an improper basis, commonly, though not necessarily, an emotional one.” Caraway, 534 F.3d at 1301 (internal quotation marks omitted). Defendant’s arguments against admissibility of the CD have been thin. His pretrial motion in limine simply asserted that the CD was unfairly prejudicial because the title contained the word “coke,” a slang term for cocaine, and “would allow the jury to reach an inappropriate conclusion regarding [Defendant’s] guilt regarding cocaine-related charges.” R., Vol. 1 pt. 4 at 570–71 (internal quotation marks omitted). His opening brief in this court asserted that the CD had no probative value and may have “impressed upon the jury impermissible evidence of bad character.” Aplt. Br. at 54. The gist of the 18 argument in his reply brief was that “[t]here was no probative value of showing the jury a photograph of [Defendant], along with that of a scantily-clad young female, pouring a substance into a measuring cup, along with the word ‘Cokeland’. The photograph on the CD had absolutely no probative value, and the only result of its admission was prejudice to [Defendant].” Reply Br. at 13. And at oral argument in this court Defendant complained that it was prejudicial to show the jury the CD image depicting him manufacturing cocaine and suggested that a musician who represents himself as involved in cocaine may not actually be a dealer. We are not persuaded. There were four men in the kitchen where the cocaine was found. The CD singled Defendant out. Because the CD had his picture on it, it would be reasonable to infer that it belonged to him. And the proximity to the cocaine of something he owned increased the likelihood that the cocaine was his too. Moreover, the cocaine message on the CD cover suggested that its proximity to the cocaine was not just happenstance. The chain of inference was not that Defendant is a man of bad character and therefore must be guilty. We appreciate Defendant’s concern that artistic creations not be misused by the jury to infer that the artist is a criminal. The issue is a recurring one in the courts, with the ruling turning on the specific facts of the case. See, e.g., United States v. Moore, 639 F.3d 443, 447–48 (8th Cir. 2011) (recording of defendant rapping was admissible to show defendant’s knowledge of drug distribution and motive for engaging in it, although vulgar, inflammatory, and prejudicial language created danger of unfair prejudice; no 19 plain error); United States v. Gamory, 635 F.3d 480, 493–94 (11th Cir. 2011) (error to admit rap video produced by defendant’s recording studio when defendant did not appear in the video; there was no evidence that he authored the lyrics or adopted its views or values; and the violence, profanity, and misogyny on the video presented a substantial danger of unfair prejudice); United States v. Fraser, 448 F.3d 833, 839–41 (6th Cir. 2006) (to rebut defendant’s claim that he was duped into participating in counterfeit check scheme, prosecution could offer excerpts from defendant’s book describing the scheme); United States v. Hull, 419 F.3d 762, 770 (8th Cir. 2005) (after defense counsel’s opening statement characterized defendant’s music company as producing hip-hop music, prosecution could question him about whether the music was actually gangster rap); United States v. Price, 418 F.3d 771, 783 (7th Cir. 2005) (rap lyrics on recording by defendant’s group were possibly prejudicial but harmless); United States v. Foster, 939 F.2d 445, 456–57 (7th Cir. 1991) (handwritten verses found on defendant were admissible to show his familiarity with drug code words and trafficking, rebutting his claim of naivete and lack of knowledge of the contents of his suitcases); United States v. Brown, 374 F. App’x 927, 937 (11th Cir. 2010) (defendant’s writings referencing firearms admissible to show knowledge of firearms in back of vehicle); United States v. Stuckey, 253 F. App’x 468, 482–83 (6th Cir. 2007) (defendant’s rap lyrics about “shooting snitches, wrapping them in blankets, and dumping their bodies in the street” were admissible when he was accused of doing just that); United States v. Orr, No. 92-10681, 1994 WL 384361, at  (9th Cir. July 21, 1994) (unpublished table 20 decision) (manuscript of unpublished book admissible against defendant accused of setting arson fires because similarities between arsonist in the book and defendant and between the fires in the book and the charged ones made it relevant on issues of modus operandi and identity); Washington v. Hanson, 731 P.2d 1140, 1144–45 (Wash. Ct. App. 1987) (defendant’s fictional writings were inadmissible character evidence). But the CD had probative value aside from any inference based on character, and, in our view, the district court could reasonably believe that the probative value was not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. The district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the CD at trial.