Opinion ID: 151763
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: analysis

Text: McCann objected to the admission of the death threat testimony in limine. He argued that the evidence should be excluded under Rule 403 because its probative value was substantially outweighed by its unfairly prejudicial effect. He makes the same argument on appeal. The Government does not appear to contest that the comment might have created some danger of prejudice to McCann, but it does argue that any such danger was outweighed by the evidence's probative value. The Government argues that the threat had significant probative value because it was directed against the only witness who saw McCann in possession of a firearm, Officer Hunter. The Government contends that this makes the situation comparable to the one we analyzed in United States v. Rocha , where we held that a death threat is admissible to show the defendant's consciousness of guilt when it is made against a key witness for the prosecution. 916 F.2d at 241. The Government also contends that the language of the threat, which suggested that Officer Hunter would soon be in need of a bulletproof vest, strongly implied that McCann had access to firearms. [6] McCann argues that the death threat had no probative value. He argues that it did not establish consciousness of guilt because [a] person who is being framed is even more likely to be angry than a person who is legitimately arrested. He also argues that the threat implied that he could obtain [a firearm] at an unspecified time in the future, not that he had possessed one on the night of his arrest. Neither argument is convincing. That a statement can be interpreted in two different ways does not negate its probative value. On the issue of unfair prejudice, McCann argues that this case is controlled by United States v. Grimes, 244 F.3d 375 (5th Cir.2001). He asserts that Grimes stands for the proposition that [t]he risk of unfair prejudice outweighs probative value when the disputed evidence involves conduct more serious than the charged offense. We do not agree that Grimes stands for this proposition. In Grimes, the defendant was charged with possessing child pornography. Id. at 377. During his trial, in addition to introducing the pictures the defendant was charged with possessing, the prosecution introduced paper copies of two explicit stories that had been stored on his computer's hard drive, which described raping children in lurid, graphic detail. Id. at 379, 385. We found that the unfair prejudice inherent in introducing these vile stories into evidence outweighed their probative value. Id. at 385. The basis for our decision was not that possessing the stories was a more serious offense than possessing child pornography. See id. Possessing the stories was legal. Id. The basis for our decision was that the stories were extremely inflammatory. Id. The court even noted that the stories might be admissible in the defendant's new trial if the prosecution redacted the gruesome violence. Id. While Grimes does not support McCann's argument, he is correct that evidence that a defendant engaged in conduct more serious than the charged offense can create substantial unfair prejudice. See United States v. Adair, 436 F.3d 520, 527 (5th Cir.2006) (We also conclude that [the] testimony had little opportunity of creating unfair prejudice because ... the prior scheme was not a more serious offense than the offense with which Adair was charged ....). However, McCann's threat was not a more serious offense than being a felon in possession of a firearm. Under Louisiana law, threatening a public officer or a witness is punishable by not more than five years' imprisonment. See LA.REV.STAT. ANN. § 14:122 (2004). A felon in possession of a firearm can be sentenced to as much as ten years' imprisonment. See 18 U.S.C.A. § 924(a)(2) (West 2000). Nevertheless, we agree that the evidence of the death threat created a moderate risk of unfair prejudice, even though this risk was not as great as it would have been if the threat had been a more serious crime than that charged. McCann was not charged with attempting to kill Officer Hunter. He was charged with possessing a firearm. The threat had the potential to distract the jury from the issue it was supposed to decide. But we also hold that the statement had material probative value. It suggested that McCann was conscious of his guilt and wanted to intimidate the principal witness against him. See Rocha, 916 F.2d at 241. On the balance, we cannot say that the district court abused its discretion by holding that the material probative value outweighed the risk of unfair prejudice. Therefore, we hold that the district court did not err by refusing to exclude the death threat evidence.