Opinion ID: 203288
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Disclosure of Underlying Data

Text: Feliciano argues that Agent Toro, although qualified to give lay opinion testimony about the general operation of drug points under Rule 701 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, should not have been permitted to reveal to the jury the underlying data on which he based his opinions, as is permitted, under certain conditions, for an expert testifying pursuant to Rule 702. The only underlying data that Appellant identifies is [h]earsay gleaned from police reports about [Appellant's] relation to Alex Trujillo's violent take over. Rule 703 of the Federal Rules of Evidence provides, in pertinent part, that [f]acts or data that are otherwise inadmissible shall not be disclosed to the jury by the proponent of the opinion or inference unless the court determines that their probative value in assisting the jury to evaluate the expert's opinion substantially outweighs their prejudicial effect. Fed. R.Evid. 703. Here, Appellant has failed to identify the underlying data that Agent Toro purportedly disclosed to the jury in discussing Alex Trujillo's role in the drug conspiracy at Covadonga. There is no indication that Agent Toro quoted from, or cited to, police reports, the accounts of non-testifying informants, or other inadmissible material regarding Trujillo's relationship to Appellant or his violent take-over of the drug point at Covadonga. Although Agent Toro did briefly refer to an indictment filed against Trujillo by the Mass Murder office, which charged Trujillo with drug activity in another housing project, that indictment had no connection to Trujillo's relationship with Appellant or with the drug conspiracy at Covadonga. Thus, Appellant's argument is without merit.