Background
Brendan Gates was convicted following a jury trial for conspiracy to possess over fifty grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of fifty grams or more of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. During trial, a government witness testified that she had spoken to the defendant’s girlfriend, who stated that the defendant had hit her. The defendant moved for a mistrial, which the district court denied and provided a curative instruction to the jury.
The court’s reasoning
The Eleventh Circuit reviewed the denial of the mistrial motion for abuse of discretion. The court concluded the district court did not err because the statement was isolated and not elicited by the government. The court presumed the jury followed the curative instruction given by the judge. Furthermore, the testimony was not prejudicial given the substantial evidence of guilt, including eyewitness testimony, physical evidence found in the defendant’s home, and photographs showing drug transactions.
What it means going forward
This decision reinforces that isolated, unprompted references to collateral matters, when followed by a prompt curative instruction, generally do not warrant reversal of a conviction if substantial evidence of guilt exists.
Podcast (federal-narrative-summaries): Play in new window | Download