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Refusal to Allow Evidence of Defendant's Good Character Results in Reversal

By Shari Allison

United States v.Yarbrough, ___ F.3d ___, 2008 WL 2246969 (10th Cir. 2008)In a fairly surprising defense win, the Court reverses Defendant?s conviction after trial on obstruction of justice-related charges, because the trial court refused to admit Defendant?s evidence of his good character. Defendant was investigated for being a ?dirty cop,? based on his giving his buddy tips about ongoing police investigations of the buddy. First, the Court disposed of two other issues against the Defendant, holding: (1) the government made a prima facie showing that police reasonably minimized interception of non-pertinent phone calls under the wiretap warrant?calls under 2 minutes long are not even considered under minimization analysis; (2) evidence was insufficient to support giving of entrapment instruction?there was no evidence Defendant was induced by the government...continue to full post

Full post as published by Tenth Circuit Blog on June 04, 2008 (boomark / email).