The following excerpt is from U.S. v. Tropeano, 252 F.3d 653 (2nd Cir. 2000):
We review a district court's evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion and its application of constitutional standards de novo. See United States v. Moskowitz, 215 F.3d 265, 268 (2d Cir.) (per curiam), cert. denied, 121 S.Ct. 571 (2000). We also review a claim of error in jury instructions
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de novo, reversing only where appellant can show that, viewing the charge as a whole, there was a prejudicial error. See Anderson v. Branen, 17 F.3d 552, 556 (2d Cir. 1994).
a) Admissibility of the Allocution Statement
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