United States v. Ikim Blackett ( 2012 )

NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
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No. 11-1556
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
v.
IKIM BLACKETT,
Appellant
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On Appeal from the District Court
of the Virgin Islands
(D.C. Criminal No. 3-10-cr-00028-001)
District Judge: Hon. Curtis V. Gomez
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Argued May 9, 2012
BEFORE: CHAGARES, JORDAN and COWEN, Circuit Judges
(Filed: May 29, 2012)
Leonard B. Francis, Jr., Esq. (Argued)
4A Dronningens
P.O. Box 8838
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
USVI, 00801
Counsel for Appellant
Kim R. Lindquist, Esq.
Nolan D. Paige, Esq. (Argued)
Office of the United States Attorney
5500 Veterans Building, Suite 260
United States Courthouse
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
USVI, 00802-6924
Counsel for Appellee
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OPINION
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COWEN, Circuit Judge.
A jury convicted appellant of bribing a juror in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 201(b)(1)(A). On appeal, appellant argues that the court abused its discretion and
committed reversible error by admitting into evidence 1) the text of a text message sent
from the complaining witness, Jeannette Smith, to her sister; and 2) business records from
Sprint. For the following reasons, we will affirm.
(1) Appellant argues that the text message is hearsay and does not fall within the
“recorded recollection” exception to hearsay in Fed. R. Evid. 803(5), under which it was
admitted. We need not decide whether the text message was admitted in error. Even if its
admission was in error, it was harmless and must be disregarded. Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(a).
The text message was cumulative of other evidence that someone visited Smith and
offered her a bribe. It did not identify appellant. To the extent that the text message
corroborates Smith‟s testimony and establishes her credibility, her testimony was
corroborated, and credibility established, by other evidence. In this light, it is “„highly
probable‟” that the evidence “„did not contribute to the jury‟s judgment of conviction.‟”
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United States v. Jannotti, 729 F.2d 213, 219 (3d Cir. 1984) (quoting Government of
Virgin Islands v. Toto, 529 F.2d 278, 284 (3d Cir. 1976)). As a result, the text message‟s
admission, regardless of whether it was in error, cannot be a basis for reversal.
(2) Defendant argues that the Sprint records custodian who testified at trial was not
competent to lay the foundation for the admission of the Sprint phone detail records. The
records custodian testified to each of the requirements contained in Fed. R. Evid. 803(6)
for the admission of business records based on his personal knowledge. As a result, there
is no abuse of discretion in the admission of the business records through the records
custodian who testified at trial.
For the foregoing reasons, we will affirm the judgment of the District Court
entered on March 1, 2011.
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