Evidence — Propensity evidence — unfair prejudice

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U.S. Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Criminal

Evidence — Propensity evidence — unfair prejudice

Even if it was error to admit, in a prosecution for felon in possession of a firearm, evidence that the defendant had a firearm tattoo, the error does not require reversal.

“We afford the district court great deference when it comes to the admissibility of evidence for good reason. Unlike the district court, we are not in a position to observe the trial proceedings first-hand and gauge the impact of the evidence in the context of the proceedings as a whole. United States v. Boone, 628 F.3d 927, 932 (7th Cir. 2010). Instead, we must rely on the record on appeal. Neither of the parties’ briefs nor the record indicate where on Boswell’s neck the tattoo was located, how big it was, how identifiable it was, where the jury sits in the particular Indiana district court relative to the witness stand or the defense table, etc. At oral argument, the government did indicate that Boswell was wearing an open-collar shirt at trial, but counsel could not say with any certainty whether some or all of the jurors could identify the firearm tattoo from the jury box. At any rate, the admissibility of the fact that the tattoo existed under the circumstances of this case was not error, clear or otherwise.”

Affirmed.

13-3641 U.S. v. Boswell

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Lawrence, J., Bauer, J.

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