Opinion ID: 552246
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Sniper Testimony

Text: 38 Another category of allegedly improper testimony concerns two witnesses' references to the possibility that Jim Wright might be acting as a sniper in the vicinity of the lab site, and related testimony that the arresting officers were heavily armed when they made the lab site arrests. The defendants argue, and the district court apparently agreed, that the prosecution's repeated references to fear of a sniper, despite sustained objections and admonitions from the court, unfairly prejudiced the defendants. 39 The subject first came up during the prosecutor's direct examination of Officer Duncan, one of the arresting officers. Duncan testified that I planned to go into the situation with a full force raid team ... [because] one of the suspects, Mr. Wright, was supposed to be in the woods with a sniper rifle. XI R. at 710. Defense counsel immediately objected on the basis of hearsay. Id. The court sustained the objection and, during a bench conference, observed that the evidence was both unnecessary and could not have been offered for any other reason than to try to prejudice the defendants, stating the evidence was just more prejudicial than probative. Id. at 710-11 (emphasis added). 14 Defense counsel's motion for a mistrial, however, was denied. Id. at 713. 40 After the bench conference, the prosecutor requested permission to confer with Officer Duncan, presumably to advise him of the court's ruling and admonition. However, during cross-examination Duncan again stated that, We had been told that Jimmy Wright was the sniper in this deal, that he was supposed to be out in the woods and he would cover from the woods periodically. Tr. XII at 863-64. The answer was admittedly unresponsive, and counsel requested an appropriate admonishment from the court. The judge cautioned the witness to merely answer the questions, but did not strike the testimony or admonish the jury to disregard it. Id. at 864. 41 The subject arose again during the prosecution's direct examination of Agent Means. The prosecutor had returned to the subject of the raid on the drug lab and Agent Means said that because he was fearful that a sniper may be concealed in the woods, he sent four or five men into the woods 30 to 40 minutes before his main assault team went in. Id. The court sustained defense counsel's timely objection on the ground that the testimony was cumulative. Id. at 102-03.