December 4, 2008
Appeal in Beating Focuses on Tattoos
During Christopher Slavin's trial for attempted murder for beating two day laborers from Farmingville, prosecutors introduced photos of his tattoos as evidence of his motive for the crime.
The tattoos depicted Vikings, which were described by an expert witness as symbols of the White Power movement. Another depicted the kind of lightning bolts worn by Adolf Hitler's elite guard and another showed a skinhead standing on a skeleton.
In his testimony at the trial last year, Louis Jordan, chief investigator of the Bias Crimes unit in Monmouth County, N.J., said some of the tattoos were typical of gang members, especially prison gangs and white supremacist groups.
The prosecution didn't make a direct connection between the tattoos and the severe beating of two Mexican men after they had been lured to an abandoned building in Shirley with the promise of work. But Assistant District Attorney Eileen Powers persuaded County Court Judge Charles Cacciabaudo to allow Jordan's testimony and photographs of the tattoos as evidence of Slavin's state of mind.
During the trial, defense lawyer Robert Del Col of Huntington continually objected to Jordan's testimony and other references to the tattoos. But Cacciabaudo allowed it and Slavin, who was convicted, is now serving a 25-year sentence.
Now, Del Col has asked for a new trial, stating in briefs and oral arguments before justices of the Appellate Division in Central Islip last month that the tattoo evidence was overwhelmingly prejudicial.
"The mere introduction of this highly inflammatory and equally irrelevant testimony had no bearing on any element of any count in the indictment and was presented for the sole purpose of poisoning the jury and denigrating" Slavin, Del Col wrote in a brief he submitted to the Appellate Division.
Both sides agree that the state has the right to introduce the photographs of the tattoos into evidence, especially because the prosecution obtained a court order to do so. But the defense contends the state went beyond merely using them as a way to identify physical markings on Slavin, in much the same way a fingerprint might be used as evidence. Del Col maintains they were misused by the prosecution because they were used to "demonize" Slavin and malign his character.
The justices wanted to know why the prosecution felt it necessary to introduce the tattoos during the trial, in light of the other strong circumstantial evidence against Slavin, 29, of Melville and Wagner, 20, of Maspeth. This proof included phone records linking the defendants, police witnesses who placed Slavin and co-defendant Ryan Wagner and Wagner's car at the crime scene, the victims' accounts and testimony from Slavin's housemates about his actions with Wagner that day and Slavin's racist beliefs.
But Assistant District Attorney Michael Blakey argued on appeal that the tattoos were needed to provide the jury with the answer to the question of why Slavin would commit such a crime against strangers. "Clearly, the tattoos were relevant to motive," Blakey said in an interview. "And juries want to know about motive," even though the law doesn't require that for conviction.
Under the law, one crucial test of whether evidence can be submitted is whether the prejudice it causes against a defendant outweighs its probative value, or relevance to the case. Cacciabaudo allowed the tattoo photographs and Jordan's testimony only to show Slavin's state of mind, not to show evidence of any actual crimes, past or present, court records show.
But Del Col argued that the inferences from Jordan's testimony - that Slavin was violent, racist, a gang member and had served time - were too devastating.
"The Court assisted in creating a litigation environment so replete with improperly admitted evidence ... that the defendant was deprived of his opportunity to obtain a fair trial," Del Col stated in his brief.
Prosecutor Blakey said Cacciabaudo made an appropriate ruling after both sides made arguments, which was sufficient to let Del Col make his case.
The question for the appellate justices to decide is whether Cacciabaudo's ruling on the tattoo evidence is grounds for reversal. The prosecution argued that it isn't because the judge limited the use of the evidence and so even if the justices disagreed with the decision, it was a "harmless error," meaning that the defendant wasn't irreparably harmed by it.
Del Col says once the evidence was allowed, there was permanent damage to his case and his client's rights. "The admission of these prior bad acts, uncharged criminal conduct and impermissible character evidence severely prejudiced [Slavin's] case and deprived him of ... a fair trial." Thus, he said, Slavin deserves a new trial.
The appeals court will make its decision sometime in the coming months. There were a number of other complex legal points made in the briefs from both sides but if the justices' questioning is any indication, the lawyers said, the case will rise or fall on the tattoo question.
"Clearly," Blakey said, "the tattoos are what's most interesting about this case."
Mixx it!
Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.
Popular stories
- McCain on path to nomination
- Not an 'Affair' to Remember
- Grooms get into wedding planning
- Diane Werts: It's a wonderful lineup
- Hip hop still lives in Hollis
- Alvin Anderson dies, a great civic leader
- Is Busch eyeing a Christmas theme?
- Winter cutbacks among deepest at CW
- Prostitution ring was well-organized
- W&M dropout gives $6 million
- Tribune Co.
- Conservation
- Renewable Energy
- Dance
