Opinion ID: 783210
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Alleged Hearsay Statements

Text: 6 Williams next argues that the District Court erred in failing to suppress statements made by his sister during the controlled purchase that he believes are hearsay. The statements were taped by the Government, and the jury listened to the tape and received a copy of its transcript to follow during the playing of the tape (the jury was not allowed to keep the transcript after the playing of the tape was completed). The statements by Williams's sister were also admitted at trial through Brugman's testimony. 7 Hearsay is a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at ... trial, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted, Fed.R.Evid. 801(c), and is generally inadmissible, Fed.R.Evid. 802. But a statement is not hearsay if it is offered against a party and was made by a coconspirator of a party during the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy. Fed.R.Evid.801(d)(2)(E). More specifically, a statement is admissible pursuant to Rule 801(d)(2)(E) if the government demonstrates (1) that a conspiracy existed; (2) that the defendant and the declarant were members of the conspiracy; and (3) that the declaration was made during the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy. United States v. Bell, 573 F.2d 1040, 1043 (8th Cir.1978). The standard of proof for these requirements is preponderance of the evidence. Id. at 1044. Williams argues that the statements made by his sister, who did not testify at trial, were offered to prove the truth of the matters she asserted. The District Court, however, ruled that her statements were not hearsay because they met the requirements of Rule 801(d)(2)(E). We review evidentiary rulings for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Alcantar, 271 F.3d 731, 739 (8th Cir.2001), cert. denied, 535 U.S. 964, 122 S.Ct. 1380, 152 L.Ed.2d 371 (2002). 8 Williams offers two arguments for why Rule 801(d)(2)(E) should not apply. We find his first argument — that [a] sale of drugs does not constitute a conspiracy, Br. of Appellant at 15 — to be frivolous. In the criminal context, a conspiracy is `an agreement between at least two people' whose `objective was a violation of the law.' United States v. Guerrero-Cortez, 110 F.3d 647, 651 (8th Cir.) (quoting United States v. Jenkins, 78 F.3d 1283, 1287 (8th Cir.1996) (internal quotations omitted)), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 1017, 118 S.Ct. 604, 139 L.Ed.2d 492 (1997). Obviously, an agreement between two persons to sell drugs in violation of federal law meets this definition. 9 Williams also contends that his participation in a conspiracy was not proven by independent evidence, as he believes it must be, but instead only by his sister's statements, the very statements he argues are hearsay. Contrary to Williams's assertion, the District Court relied on more than his sister's statements in concluding that he and his sister were involved in a conspiracy. In particular, the District Court considered Brugman's testimony that he saw Williams hand his sister a plastic bag containing cocaine base. The circumstances surrounding this exchange — its rapid occurrence in the back hallway of a small apartment while purchasers waited in the front of the apartment — are strong hints Williams knew his sister intended to sell the drugs rather than use them herself. Cf. Iannelli v. United States, 420 U.S. 770, 777 n. 10, 95 S.Ct. 1284, 43 L.Ed.2d 616 (1975) (explaining that agreement underlying conspiracy can be inferred from the facts and circumstances of the case). Taken together, the independent evidence and the statements provide proof of a conspiracy in which Williams and his sister were involved, and there is little doubt that her statements were made during the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy — a sale of cocaine base was ongoing, and her statements were made with the purpose of explaining the sale procedure to the purchasers. Accordingly, the District Court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the statements.