Opinion ID: 69366
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Exclusion of Newspaper Articles

Text: Before trial, Jefferson Parish filed a motion in limine, seeking to exclude two newspaper articles concerning the library director’s past job performance. These were allegedly relevant because the director’s motives for the termination were in issue. The district court granted the motion but also stated that it might reconsider at trial if Manthos presented other evidence on the issue. At trial, all evidence regarding the director’s job performance was excluded. An evidentiary ruling is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Powers, 168 F.3d 741, 748 (5th Cir. 1999). “Generally, an abuse of discretion only occurs where no reasonable person could take the view adopted by the trial court. If reasonable persons could differ, no abuse of discretion can be found.” Dawson v. United States, 68 F.3d 886, 896 (5th Cir. 1995). The district court based its ruling on Federal Rule of Evidence 403. That rule provides that even relevant “evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.” Fed. R. Evid. 403. A reasonable person could conclude that the newspaper articles were not relevant to Manthos’s claims. There was no abuse of discretion. For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM. 8