Parties ordered to submit pleadings on admissibility issue of text message logs

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona has ordered the prosecution and the defense counsel in the ongoing jury trial of Raymond B. Roberto to submit over the weekend pleadings in connection with the U.S. government’s oral motion to admit several hundred pages of redacted text message logs.

In a written order issued on Friday, Manglona ordered the U.S. government to submit no later than 12 noon, Saturday, Sept. 6, a memorandum in support of its motion.

Manglona said the memorandum should explain the relevancy of the proffered exhibits and specify the grounds on which the messages are not inadmissible hearsay.

“With respect to the balancing of interests, the memorandum should address not only the danger of unfair prejudice to the defendant, but also whether the probative value of the proffered exhibits ‘is substantially outweighed by a danger of…confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, wasting time, or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence,’” the judge said.

The memorandum, she added, should also address whether admitting these exhibits without providing Roberto the opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses as to their content presents a confrontation clause problem.

Manglona said Roberto may file a response to the U.S. government’s memorandum no later than 12 noon yesterday, Sunday.

On Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rami S. Badawy moved to admit the redacted text messages logs.

Some of the text messages in the redacted logs have already been admitted into evidence in another format, but it appears that most of the messages are not yet in evidence. The logs have already been authenticated.

Badawy asserted that the messages in the proffered exhibits are relevant and not unfairly prejudicial to Roberto. He said the statements contained in logs either are no hearsay or fall within one or more exceptions to the hearsay rule.

Roberto’s lead counsel David J. Lujan objected to admission of the exhibits. He described the government’s motion as an “ambush trial.”

The issue prompted Manglona to order an early recess on Thursday afternoon and instructed the jurors to come back today, Monday, for the resumption of the trial.

Manglona issued the written order on Friday regarding memorandum submission to facilitate the orderly and prompt disposition of the U.S. government’s motion.

Roberto, 41, a former acting director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife, is on trial for three counts of enticing three minors to engage in prostitution and one count of witness tampering.

The prosecution called its last witness on Thursday.