Opinion ID: 1433971
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Summary charts and summary witness for the Government

Text: Finally, Whitfield contends that the district court abused its discretion by admitting charts summarizing the financial transactions at issue in the case and by allowing Kim Mitchell, a summary witness for the Government, to explain those charts to the jury. FED.R.EVID. 1006 provides in part: The contents of voluminous writings, recordings, or photographs which cannot conveniently be examined in court may be presented in the form of a chart, summary, or calculation. This Court has properly expressed some reluctance to generally endorse the use of summary evidence. See United States v. Fullwood, 342 F.3d 409, 413-14 (5th Cir.2003) (The use of summary evidence serves an important purpose, but that purpose is not simply to allow the Government to repeat its entire case-in-chief shortly before jury deliberations. Moreover, there are obvious potential dangers associated with its use.). However, a district court does not abuse its discretion by admitting summary testimony where the evidence presented is voluminous and complex. See Ollison, 555 F.3d at 162. Describing the admission of summary charts and use of summary witnesses, this court has explained: Rule 1006 allows admission of summaries when (1) the evidence previously admitted is voluminous, and (2) review by the jury would be inconvenient. A summary may include only evidence favoring one party, so long as the witness does not represent to the jury that he is summarizing all the evidence in the case. Summary evidence must have an adequate foundation in evidence that is already admitted, and should be accompanied by a cautionary jury instruction. Full cross-examination and admonitions to the jury minimize the risk of prejudice. United States v. Bishop, 264 F.3d 535, 547 (5th Cir.2001) (internal citations omitted). In this case, the testimony of Mitchell and the admission of summary charts was neither cumulative nor prejudicial. The information presented to the jury synthesized bank records and checks that were properly admitted, in order to explain the voluminous records supporting the transfer of money from Minor to Whitfield and Teel. Appellants were permitted to cross-examine Mitchell fully. Whitfield does not contend that the charts were incorrect or misleading. Such evidence does not implicate this Court's concerns in Fullwood, since the exhibits and testimony were not a summary of the Government's case; instead, they summarized complex records and documents for the benefit of the jury. In addition, the district court properly instructed the jury as to the limited purposes of the summary charts, minimizing any risk of prejudice. [29] There was no abuse of discretion.