Opinion ID: 611597
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Admission of Evidence Regarding Murder Conspiracy

Text: 28 Arias-Villanueva and Plancarte-Raya argue that the district court erred in admitting Boyer's testimony of Orantes-Arriaga's statement regarding the plan to murder Elias because the testimony was not admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)(E). We review de novo the legal question of whether the government established a prima facie showing of conspiracy but apply a clearly erroneous standard in reviewing whether a challenged statement was made in the course and furtherance of a conspiracy. United States v. Smith, 893 F.2d 1573, 1577 (9th Cir.1990). 29 An out-of-court statement by a coconspirator is admissible if (1) there is independent evidence of the existence of a conspiracy, (2) the statement was made in furtherance of the conspiracy, and (3) the statement was made during the course of the conspiracy. United States v. Patterson, 819 F.2d 1495, 1503 (9th Cir.1987) (citation omitted). The defendants dispute the second element of this tripartite test. To be in furtherance of the conspiracy and admissible under 801(d)(2)(E), the statement must further the common objectives of the conspiracy. United States v. Nazemian, 948 F.2d 522, 529 (9th Cir.1991), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 107, 121 L.Ed.2d 65 (1992). The declarant's intent and not the actual effect is what is important. Id. (citation omitted). While mere conversations or narrative declarations are not admissible under this rule, statements made to induce enlistment, further participation, prompt further action, allay fears or keep coconspirators abreast of an ongoing conspiracy's activities are admissible. United States v. Yarborough, 852 F.2d 1522, 1535-36 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 866, 109 S.Ct. 171, 102 L.Ed.2d 140 (1988) (citations omitted). 30 The district court's ruling was not clearly erroneous. The plan to murder Elias was not merely an unrelated vendetta of Orantes-Arriaga's. Elias' murder arguably served several purposes in furtherance of the charged conspiracy. First, it showed current members of the conspiracy what would happen to those who become informants. Second, the planned murder protected the current objectives of the conspiracy by eliminating a source of evidence. Both of these potential purposes reasonably furthered the conspiracy because they served to insure its continuity. See Id.; Patterson, 819 F.2d at 1504; United States v. Friedman, 593 F.2d 109, 116 (9th Cir.1979) (holding that an ostensibly narrative statement regarding missing profits similarly served to further the conspiracy). The district court properly admitted Boyer's testimony. 31