Opinion ID: 781605
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Appropriateness of Expert Testimony in this Case

Text: 14 Turning to appellants' first argument, we reject the contention that, because the conversations were readily understandable, the expert testimony should have been excluded altogether. The Rules of Evidence provide a liberal standard for the admissibility of expert testimony. See Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharms., Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 588, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993); United States v. Boissoneault, 926 F.2d 230, 232 (2d Cir.1991). Frequently, some of the details of drug operations, as they emerge in intercepted conversations, are quite opaque. The conspirators in this case used jargon frequently and were deliberately ambiguous in their conversations about narcotics. 15 Moreover, the appellants' arguments at trial belied the idea that the language used was self-explanatory and easily understood. Griffin and McGee argued that various references that the government claimed to have been drug related were, in fact, about the sale of t-shirts and other apparel, and McGee presented several witnesses to support this theory. To be sure, appellants raise a more plausible argument that, although some of the expert testimony was admissible, a limited portion was a cumulative summary of evidence which needed no explanation. We will consider that argument below in the context of the use of the case agent as an expert witness.