Opinion ID: 403952
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: standard of proof on the preliminary issue of agency

Text: 25 Flores also argues that the letter should not have been admitted because the trial judge applied the substantial evidence standard of proof when determining the preliminary question of whether the letter was an authorized admission under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(C) or (D). 26 Under Fed.R.Evid. 104(a), the judge decides the preliminary question of whether agency existed. Flores contends that the judge erred by requiring the government to show agency only by substantial evidence, rather than by a preponderance of the evidence. We disagree. In the analogous situation involving the admissibility of a coconspirator's statements, we require substantial independent evidence of the existence of the conspiracy. See United States v. Zemek, 634 F.2d 1159, 1170 (9th Cir. 1980), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 916, 101 S.Ct. 1359, 67 L.Ed.2d 341 (1981). While some other circuits apply the preponderance of the evidence test to preliminary questions of fact, see, e.g., United States v. Santiago, 582 F.2d 1128, 1134-35 (7th Cir. 1978), the Ninth Circuit requirement is satisfied by substantial evidence of the existence of the preliminary fact of agency. 27 Flores' other arguments are without merit. 28 AFFIRMED. 29