Opinion ID: 4310658
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Testimony of FBI Case Agent

Text: Next, the defendants assert that the District Court erred by permitting the FBI case agent to vouch for the strength of the Government’s case. On redirect examination of the case agent, the District Court permitted him to respond to the single question: “in the course of your investigation into this matter, has anything occurred that has shaken your belief in your actions?” App. 3696. The case agent responded in the negative. Id. The District Court permitted this redirect question, pursuant to the Government’s request, after counsel for co-defendant Lenore on cross-examination asked the case agent if he, “at any point in time,” had any “doubts” about the defendants’ involvement in Belford’s death. App. 3638. Counsel for the defendants David and Gonzalez did not object to this initial line of questioning by counsel for Lenore, but did object to the Government’s question on redirect. The District 64 Court overruled these objections, reasoning that counsel for Lenore had opened the door to this redirect question, and counsel for David and Gonzalez had implicitly consented to it by not objecting to this line of questioning at the time. Afterwards, the District Court then provided a limiting instruction, informing the jury that it had permitted the question in response to questions by defense counsel on crossexamination and directing the jury that they were to follow only their own assessment of the evidence. We review for abuse of discretion “the District Court’s ruling on a challenge to prosecutorial statements objected to at trial.” United States v. Vitillo, 490 F.3d 314, 325 (3d Cir. 2007). And we review a “vouching issue for abuse of discretion and harmless error.” Id. “Vouching constitutes an assurance by the prosecuting attorney of the credibility of a Government witness through personal knowledge or by other information outside of the testimony before the jury.” United States v. Walker, 155 F.3d 180, 184 (3d Cir. 1998) (citing United States v. Lawn, 355 U.S. 339, 359 n.15 (1958)). To prevail on a vouching claim, a defendant must demonstrate that: “(1) the prosecutor [assured] the jury that the testimony of a Government witness is credible; and (2) this assurance is based on either the prosecutor’s personal knowledge, or other information not contained in the record.” Id. at 187. We have observed that a “defendant must be able to identify as the basis for that comment an explicit or implicit reference to either the personal knowledge of the prosecuting attorney or information not contained in the record.” Id. Impermissible vouching can occur through the use of witness testimony. United States v. Berrios, 676 F.3d 118, 134 (3d Cir. 2012). However, “where the purported vouching is a ‘reasonable response to allegations of [impropriety]’ by the defense, it is not improper.” Id. 65 (alteration in original) (quoting United States v. Weatherly, 525 F.3d 265, 272 (3d Cir. 2008)). Here, the challenged statement of the FBI case agent did not constitute vouching. As the District Court acknowledged both in overruling the defense objections and in providing the limiting instruction to the jury, the challenged question was permitted only as a response to the earlier questions on crossexamination about any doubts the case agent might have had about the strength of the case. The Government’s follow-up question was a “reasonable response” to these defense questions. Id.16 Accordingly, we hold that the District Court did not abuse its discretion by permitting this question.