Opinion ID: 1804919
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Admissibility of Teresa Miller's Statements.

Text: Because the evidence in question has a bearing on appellant's challenge to the sufficiency of the State's proof, we will first consider the admissibility of Teresa Miller's statements to the undercover officer. This issue is important because these statements are the only evidence directly linking the trip by Gad Scott and Brian Miller in Melissa's Oldsmobile Cutlass to the act of obtaining the marijuana ultimately sold to the undercover agent. The trial court admitted the challenged statements as being those of a coconspirator under Iowa Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)(E). Appellant urges that this was error because a conspiracy was not established by evidence independent of the challenged statements. We disagree. We have recognized that it is not necessary to completely ignore the statements sought to be admitted under rule 801(d)(2)(E) in considering whether a conspiracy has been sufficiently established for purposes of admitting those statements as evidence of the primary crime charged. State v. Florie, 411 N.W.2d 689, 696 (Iowa 1987). This is true because a conspiracy mounted and carried on without words would be unusual. In the usual case, many of the statements uttered during a conspiracy are an integral part of the concerted action that constitutes the conspiracy. See United States v. Hassell, 547 F.2d 1048, 1052 (8th Cir.1977). In searching the present record for evidence of a conspiracy, we are guided by the definition contained in Iowa Code section 706.1(1)(b) (1991). That statute makes it a criminal conspiracy if, with the intent to facilitate commission of a crime, one [a]grees to aid another in the planning or commission of the crime or of an attempt or solicitation to commit the crime. The district court could have found from the evidence before it that Teresa Miller's actions in engaging the undercover agent in conversation during her husband's absence were an effort to appease his dissatisfaction over the delay and soliciting him to remain at the Miller residence until the illegal sale of a controlled substance could be completed by her husband. Viewed in this light, the evidence is sufficient to support the court's allowance of the challenged hearsay statements by Teresa Miller as part of the proof of the criminal activity relied on by the State in seeking to forfeit appellant's automobile.