Court Opinion

ID: 9492261
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 14:36:29.971366+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:55:12.776517
License: Public Domain

COFFEY, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
On May 3, 1989, the plaintiff-appellant Wilson was convicted of the armed rob*569bery and murder of one Chicago police officer and of the armed robbery of a second Chicago police officer. More than one year later, on July 9, 1990, Wilson filed this § 1983 action, alleging that he was assaulted by the defendant-appellee Williams, a prison guard in the Cook County, Illinois, Jail, and furthermore that the assault constituted a violation of his due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The district court granted Williams’ motion for summary judgment and made note of the fact that the physician who examined Wilson had stated in his medical report that Wilson’s injuries were only “superficial” in nature, that “being kicked ... would involve more extensive injuries than what [was] present,” and that if Wilson “had received a significant blow or trauma ..., one would expect to see some evidence of traumatic degree.” This Court reversed the granting of the summary judgment motion on the grounds that genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether Wilson had initiated the fight with Williams and remanded the case for trial. See Wilson v. Williams, 997 F.2d 348 (7th Cir.1993). At the new trial, the jury rendered a verdict for Williams, and Wilson appealed a second time, and this Court reversed a second time, holding that the trial judge had committed error in giving a confusing “good faith” defense instruction. See Wilson v. Williams, 83 F.3d 870 (7th Cir.1996). Once again, the case was remanded to the district court for a new trial, and approximately three months prior to trial, Wilson filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude any evidence of his prior criminal murder conviction. The trial judge ruled that the jury could hear evidence of the prior murder conviction for impeachment purposes only, including the date, time, conviction, and employment of the victim. Just prior to his opening statement, Wilson’s counsel renewed his objection to the introduction of any evidence dealing with the fact that the murder victim was a Chicago police officer. The trial judge again denied Wilson’s motion in limine to bar evidence of his prior murder conviction. Wilson’s counsel proceeded with his opening statement and referred to the fact that his client Wilson was a “cop killer.” Later, upon questioning by his counsel during direct testimony, Wilson testified that he had been convicted of murder and armed robbery. Then, on cross-examination, Williams’ counsel asked Wilson whether he had been convicted of murdering a Chicago police officer. The plaintiff Wilson’s counsel failed to object to this question, and Wilson responded in the affirmative. Just before the case went to the jury, Wilson’s counsel again brought up his client’s prior convictions for murder and armed robbery and specifically referred to him as a “cop killer” in so many words no less than seven times during closing argument. The jury returned a verdict for the defendant Williams, and Wilson once again appealed, taking his third bite from the apple. This Court affirmed the conviction in a two-to-one panel majority decision, concluding that: (1) Wilson waived his objection to the introduction of evidence regarding his murder victim’s occupation by failing to renew his motion in limine during trial and by failing to timely object when the disputed evidence was introduced through the testimony of a prison guard who heard Wilson comment: “I already killed two Chicago police officers.... I have no respect for the law. And the next thing ive are going to do is take care of the blue shirts [prison guards] inside the jail”-,1 (2) Wilson waived his objection by preemptively informing the jury on eight occasions at trial of the very evidence that he wanted to exclude, including using it for his own strategic purposes in his closing argument-, and (3) the trial court did not commit error in admitting evidence regarding Wilson’s prior victims. Wilson v. Williams, 161 F.3d 1078, 1080-81 (7th Cir.1998) (emphases added).
*570Thereafter, the Court, upon petition, voted to hold an en banc hearing and the majority, in affirming the prior panel’s holding, concluded that the trial court did not commit error in admitting evidence regarding Wilson’s prior victims and that Wilson waived his objection by failing to timely object when the disputed evidence was introduced. In fact, the majority draws heavily from the panel decision and holds, as we pointed out, that
[pjlain error means an error that not only is clear in retrospect but also causes a miscarriage of justice. United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 736[, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 123 L.Ed.2d 508] (1993). Wilson has not persuaded us that justice miscarried in his trial because of the way Williams used Wilson’s crime.... Wilson may have withheld objection in the hope that jurors would deem that Williams had overplayed his hand.
In commenting on Wilson’s failure to object to the introduction of evidence that he was a “cop killer,” the majority also notes, as made clear in the prior panel’s opinion, that “the lack of objection [by Wilson’s attorney] means that the misuse of the evidence has not been preserved for appellate review.” I concur with the majority’s holding on both grounds. However, after writing for the majority in the panel opinion, I am now forced to dissent only from that part of the en banc majority wherein it concludes “that a definitive ruling in limine preserves an issue for appellate review, without the need for later objection — but this is a presumption, subject to variation by the trial judge, who may indicate that further consideration is in order.” In so holding, the majority rejects the panel’s conclusion, and that of six of our sister circuits, holding that a party whose pre-trial in limine motion has been denied must renew his objection when the evidence the party sought to prevent is about to be introduced at trial, regardless of the judge’s pretrial ruling.
The original panel’s holding concerning in limine motions is based on this Circuit’s decision in United States v. York, 933 F.2d 1343 (7th Cir.1991), as well as the majority of circuits referred to. In York, we held that an in limine motion must be renewed at trial or the objection is waived: “ ‘[a] party whose motion in limine has been overruled must object when the error the party sought to prevent is about to occur at trial.’ ” Id. at 1360 (citation omitted) (emphasis added). The rule in York is preferable because, in the interest of justice and fair play, a court must have the flexibility to reconsider the denial of a prior in limine ruling, which is hopefully not cast in stone, if other material evidence is received later in the trial which gives the trier of fact cause to pause and reconsider his earlier ruling. The York and panel decisions comport with the Supreme Court’s presently ruling case law analysis in Luce v. United States, 469 U.S. 38, 41, 105 S.Ct. 460, 83 L.Ed.2d 443 (1984), which mandates that an in limine ruling is merely speculative in effect, completely dependent upon what happens at trial. As stated by the nine wise men and women now gracing our country’s highest bench on the Potomac River, “[t]he ruling is subject to change when the case unfolds, particularly if the actual testimony differs from what was contained in the defendant’s proffer. Indeed even if nothing unexpected happens at trial, the district judge is free, in the exercise of sound judicial discretion, to alter a previous in limine ruling.” Id. at 41-42, 105 S.Ct. 460.
A motion in limine is a request for guidance by the court regarding an evidentiary question. The trial court may, within its discretion, provide such guidance by making a preliminary ruling with respect to admissibility. The parties may then consider the court’s ruling when formulating their trial strategy. However, we see no reason why the trial court could not change its ruling, for whatever reason, when the evidence is actually offered and objected to at trial. A ruling on a motion in limine is therefore essentially an advisory opinion by the trial court.
*571United States v. Luce, 713 F.2d 1236, 1239 (6th Cir.1983), aff'd, 469 U.S. 38, 105 S.Ct. 460, 83 L.Ed.2d 443 (1984) (citations omitted) (emphases added). Other courts have adopted the reasoning in Luce that in limine rulings are preliminary: “An in limine evidentiary ruling does not constitute a final ruling on admissibility.... Th[is] rule is a practical one. There is no reason to spend scarce judicial resources reviewing a decision that may be changed due to developments at trial.” Palmieri v. Defaria, 88 F.3d 136, 139 (2nd Cir.1996) (citation and internal quotations omitted). “[A]ny possible harm flowing from the in limine ruling is wholly speculative because a trial court, exercising sound judicial discretion, may always alter such rulings as the case unfolds.” United States v. Nivica, 887 F.2d 1110, 1116 (1st Cir.1989) (citation and internal quotations omitted). Thus, regardless of what counsel might infer from the judge’s wording when he makes an in limine ruling, that decision is only ‘preliminary. See Coursen v. A.H. Robins Co., 764 F.2d 1329, 1342 (9th Cir.1985). Once again, I endorse York because I am convinced that a court may and should, either upon proper motion or even sua sponte, be allowed to reconsider and possibly reverse or affirm the denial of a prior in limine ruling if other material evidence is subsequently received in the trial that causes the trier of fact to pause and reflect, in the interest of justice and fair play,,and reconsider the earlier ruling.
In rejecting this precedent, the majority proposes that certain in limine motions, those that are “qualified,” be renewed pri- or to the introduction of the evidence in question, and other in limine motions, those that are “definitive,” need not be renewed. Such a proposal would create an odd schism in the law.2 I find it hard to understand, as the author of the majority opinion writes, how a trial judge should somehow be expected to look into his crystal ball and, by court rule, be bound to make a “definitive,” all-encompassing ruling prior to the reception of any, much less all, of the evidence. Such a determination would clearly be based only on what was considered and referred to at preliminary pre-trial conferences. Based on my twenty-plus years of trial experience, I seriously question whether the rule proposed by the majority is entitled to life.3 The term “definitive” is not well adapted to use in the rules of evidence. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, “definitive” is “precisely defining or outlining; explicit” — it is somewhat difficult to at best speculate on how such a term could be applied to a trial judge’s ruling on an in limine motion. 375 (2d ed.1982). Furthermore, the distinction the majority advocates is not even addressed in the holding in Luce, 469 U.S. at 41-42, 105 S.Ct. 460, which reads:
Any possible harm flowing from a district court’s in limine ruling permitting impeachment by a prior conviction is wholly speculative. The ruling is subject to change when the case unfolds, particularly if the actual testimony differs from what was contained in the defendant’s proffer. Indeed even if nothing unexpected happens at trial, the district judge is free, in the exercise of sound judicial discretion, to alter a previous in limine ruling.
All that the United States Supreme Court requires in Luce is that in limine motions *572be repeated during trial. An experienced trial judge will allow and, more often than not, order that any repeated motion and/or argument be heard in the absence of the jury. The Luce Court went on to state that an in limine ruling, by its very nature, is always speculative in effect— “speculativeness” is the essence of any in limine ruling. See id. This reading of Luce is reinforced by the Supreme Court’s use of the language “even if nothing unexpected happens at trial.” Id. With the use of this language, the Supreme Court seems to be referring to those situations wherein the trial court, having ruled on an in li-mine motion, did not anticipate changing its mind as trial unfolded. In other words, this language seems to take into account all in limine rulings. Because Luce stands for the proposition that a trial judge’s ruling on an in limine motion can and ofttimes does change from the time of the commencement of the trial to its end, as in York, I am convinced that the ends of justice would be best served by requiring attorneys to repeat their pretrial in limine objections at trial (prior to the introduction of the questionable evidence). Since, all too frequently, it is impossible to determine from the very language of the court’s ruling whether the ruling is “qualified” or “definitive,” it is unfair to place attorneys in situations where they must speculate, worry, and/or guess as to the nature of the judge’s ruling. The term “definitive” could be more specific and detailed, and the majority’s proposal places the onus on the attorney to question the judge (which may be considered by many attorneys to be a more onerous burden than the repeating of a prior motion) or speculate as to whether the ruling is a final ruling. Even if a judge somehow issues a “definitive” ruling, the evidence in question may be received during trial for a purpose different than that originally anticipated, thus altering the conditions upon which the earlier-granted “definitive” ruling was made. The majority’s proposal thus has the effect of “boxing in” the trial judge to an earlier-stated “definitive” ruling. Furthermore, I am not convinced that the Supreme Court will accept the majority’s new dichotomy which, in my view, may amount to nothing more than a response to the ever-growing lobbying influence of trial lawyers — a group whose goals do not always rise to the level of what is in the best interest of justice for the litigants in our overburdened legal system.
This said, the in limine ruling in this case, as with all in limine rulings, was provisional and clearly within the ambit of Luce. Wilson’s attorney obviously was under the impression that the judge’s ruling was provisional, for he continued to repeat the evidence he previously sought to exclude and repeatedly referred to the hot-button phrase “cop killer” some eight different times during trial. Also, either he thought the ruling was provisional and was hoping the judge would change his mind concerning his prior ruling, or he was attempting to take the sting out of evidence he believed would ultimately be introduced at trial by Williams by raising the evidence himself.
The rule in York is the controlling case law in the majority of circuits (7) across the country. The First Circuit has held: “Merely making an unsuccessful motion in limine to exclude evidence is insufficient to preserve a claim of error; the protesting party ordinarily must revivify his opposition at the time the evidence is offered.” United States v. Joost, 133 F.3d 125, 129 (1st Cir.1998) (citation omitted). ' The Second Circuit, writing on the in limine issue, has stated: “When the district court denied [the defendant’s] in limine motion to exclude all evidence of [the death of an individual to whom he sold heroin], it did not thereby relieve ... counsel of the obligation to object whenever specific inflammatory statements were made at trial.” United States v. Birbal, 62 F.3d 456, 465 (2nd Cir.1995). The Tenth Circuit has noted: “A party whose motion in limine has been overruled must nevertheless object when the error he sought to prevent by his motion occurs at trial.” McEwen v. City *573of Norman, Okla., 926 F.2d 1539, 1544 (10th Cir.1991). A number of other circuits have reached similar conclusions: “ ‘[A] party whose motion in limine has been overruled must object when the error he sought to prevent with his motion is about to occur at trial.’ ” Hendrix v. Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc., 776 F.2d 1492, 1504 (11th Cir.1985) (quoting Collins, infra). See also Hale v. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., 756 F.2d 1322, 1333 (8th Cir.1985); Collins v. Wayne Corp., 621 F.2d 777, 785 (5th Cir.1980) (“[A]n objection is required to preserve error in the admission of testimony or the allowance of cross-examination even when a party has unsuccessfully moved in limine to suppress that testimony or cross-examination.”).
[T]he confusion generally surrounding preservation of appeal rights with respect to motions in limine mandates that, absent clear authority in a given jurisdiction, counsel treat all rulings, no matter how couched, as preserved only through objection or offer of proof made at trial. Obviously, with respect to preliminary motions in limine, no other conclusion is possible.
Michael H. Graham, Rulings on Admissibility of Evidence Outside the Hearing of the Jury — Motions in Limine, 17 Crim. L. Bull. 60, 68 (1981). See also Johnny K. Richardson, Comment, Use of Motions in Limine in Civil Proceedings, 45 Mo. L. Rev. 130, 138 (1980). The highly respected evidentiary commentator, Jack B. Weinstein, has stated: “If a party has raised an objection before trial by means of a motion in limine that the court has denied, most courts hold that the objection must be reneived at trial far the objection to be preserved for appeal. ” Weinstein’s Federal Evidence § 103.11[2][b] at 103-16 (1997 ed.) (emphasis added). See also 1 Michael H. Graham, Handbook of Federal Evidence § 103.8 at 50 (4th ed. 1996) {“To preserve error for appeal, counsel most often will be required to and thus to be safe should either renew the objection or make an offer of proof at trial.’’ (emphasis added)). Such actions on the part of trial counsel only serve to create a more complete and accurate record for the reviewing courts in our never-ending search for justice.
The author of the proposed majority en banc, without any reasoning, has cast aside York and refuses to recognize the extent of the broad-based support the circuit courts’ majority view expressed in York has received throughout the country and, on the other hand, attempts to bolster his argument by bootstrapping and pointing out that the Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence is currently amending Fed. R.Evid. 103 to provide that the renewal of the objection at trial is not necessary. This type of bolstering is of little value, for it is impossible to predict when or whether the Advisory Committee’s proposals, if ever, will be approved by the United States Supreme Court and/or the U.S. Congress. On the other hand, if the suggested rule does become law, then this Circuit, along with the other six circuits which have endorsed and continue to follow the view adopted in York and have obviously found it most helpful in conducting well-orchestrated trials, will be free to adjust their decisions in the future. The rule-making process can often be derailed when the well-educated, reasoned minds of the Supreme Court weigh in, and what are predicted to be quick changes can be short-circuited.
The new majority opinion goes on to argue that attorneys may be hesitant to continue raising objections at trial for fear that they will “annoy the judge.” I query the majority whether an attorney would similarly be “annoying” the judge when asking him to explain his ruling and whether it is “qualified” or “definitive”? In deference to the drafters of the amended rules, including those who may not have had the benefit of trial experience, even if Wilson’s counsel had believed that the judge had issued a “definitive” in limine ruling, any qualified trial counsel would be well advised to ask the presiding judge for *574a clarification concerning whether he should restate his in limine motion prior to the introduction of evidence at trial. Repeating the objection gives the trial judge an opportunity to review his earlier ruling based upon the totality of the evidence received up to that point and flags it for the attention of the appellate tribunal. Furthermore, “[cjounsel has a duty to object, and even at the risk of incurring the displeasure of the trial court, to insist upon his objection.” United States v. Warner, 855 F.2d 372, 374 (7th Cir.1988) (citation and internal quotations omitted). In fact, the same Committee that has recommended the change in the evidentiary rules even alludes to such a requirement in its commentary, in an attempt to protect itself: “the amendment imposes the obligation on counsel to clarify whether an in limine or other evidentiary ruling is definitive when there is doubt on that point.” It is a shame that Wilson’s counsel was not aware of his obligation to properly and timely object in this case — had he done so, a discussion of this issue would have been unnecessary.
Finally, as we also made clear in the panel opinion, and contrary to the majority’s contention, this Court has previously held that “[a] defendant waives his right to appeal a trial court’s pretrial ruling that a prior conviction can be used by the prosecution for purposes of impeachment when the defendant himself brought out the fact of the prior conviction in his direct testimony.” United States v. DePriest, 6 F.3d 1201, 1209 (7th Cir.1993) (citation omitted) (emphasis added). In this case, Wilson’s counsel repeated and impressed upon the jury that Wilson was a “cop killer” no less than eight times during the course of the trial. Though the majority cleverly attempts to distinguish DePriest from the circumstances under consideration by stating that the in limine ruling in DePriest came after the defendant’s testimony at issue, the DePriest court goes on to state: “[e]ven if the ruling had been made prior to the defendant’s direct examination, we do not believe that reversible error would have been committed.” Id. (emphasis added). Thus, the majority’s attempt to distinguish DePriest by pointing out that the ruling came after the defendant’s testimony is something less than a complete reading of the holding in DePriest. In fact, the DePriest court goes on to cite as precedent United States v. Williams, 939 F.2d 721 (9th Cir.1991), one of the very cases that the majority contends it is rejecting in reaching its conclusion. See also Gill v. Thomas, 83 F.3d 537 (1st Cir.1996) (After the trial judge denied the plaintiffs motion in limine to exclude evidence of several prior misdemeanors, the plaintiff introduced evidence of the misdemeanors in an attempt to “remove the sting” from the arresting officer’s anticipated impeachment testimony; the court held that the attempt to remove the sting “opened the door” to the defendant’s cross-examination).
In conclusion, I concur with the majority insofar as it draws from the original panel’s decision holding that the trial court did not commit plain error in ruling that Williams’ use of the “cop killer” term did not deny Wilson a fair trial and that “the lack of objection [by Wilson’s attorney] means that the misuse of the evidence has not been preserved for appellate review.” I dissent to the extent that the majority rejects our holding in York. According to the theory in York, which has been endorsed by the majority (7) of circuits across the country, had Wilson been desirous of preserving his objection to evidence that Wilson had murdered a police officer, he was required to renew his in limine motion and object contemporaneously with the reception of such evidence; it was not sufficient to merely rely upon his in limine motion. The majority instead proposes that we, following the lead of the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Evidence, establish precedent providing that certain in limine motions, those that are “qualified,” need be renewed prior to the introduction of the evidence in question, and other in limine motions, those that *575are “definitive,” need not be renewed. I am not swayed that we must act now so that our jurisprudence coincides with an, at best, anticipatory rule of evidence that may, at some point in futurity, be adopted by the Supreme Court. In addition, I note that Wilson waived his right to appeal on this ground by introducing the jury during his opening statement to the fact that he had been convicted of murdering a police officer, even before Williams made mention of it, by failing to object at either of the two instances that the disputed evidence was elicited by witnesses at trial, and by referencing the disputed evidence seven times so as to make it the focus of his closing argument.

. Wilson denied making this statement.

. Additionally, the majority’s admonition that “a judge would do well to explain in the decision proper (or in the final pretrial conference) whether the conclusion is definitive, and whether consideration at trial is required, appropriate, or forbidden,” seems to build in even more problems and unduly complicate the trial. Would it not be more expedient to place the burden on attorneys to simply repeat objections at trial?

. Frequently, the attorney who appears at pretrial conference is different from the trial attorney. How can the pretrial conference attorney be expected to know what will come up at trial unless he too has the latest, computerized crystal ball?