Opinion ID: 168642
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Motion to exclude co-conspirators' out-of-court statements.

Text: 16 Both Mr. Hall and his co-defendants filed a motion in limine to exclude the admission of co-conspirators' statements that were captured in the form of wiretap recordings. The District Court denied the motion. Although hearsay statements are generally not admissible at trial, see Fed. R.Evid. 802, a statement by a coconspirator of a party during the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy is not hearsay, and is therefore admissible as substantive evidence against the party, Fed. R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E). For a statement to be admissible under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E), the District Court must first find the following elements by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) that a conspiracy existed; (2) that the declarant and the defendant were both members of the conspiracy; and (3) that the statements were made in the course of and in furtherance of the conspiracy. United States v. Sinclair, 109 F.3d 1527, 1533 (10th Cir. 1997). After a two-day hearing on the motion, during which the Government submitted a detailed description of the evidence it would present at trial to demonstrate the existence of the conspiracy and the individual defendants' participation in the conspiracy, the court found by a preponderance of the evidence that each element of the above test was satisfied and provisionally admitted the evidence. 2 We review the admission of evidence for an abuse of discretion and we will not disturb an evidentiary ruling absent a distinct showing that it was based on a clearly erroneous finding of fact or an erroneous conclusion of law or manifests a clear error in judgment. United States v. Dowlin, 408 F.3d 647, 659 (10th Cir.2005) (alteration and quotation omitted). 17 Although his brief is not entirely clear on this point, Mr. Hall appears to argue that because the wiretap conversations between him and Mr. Small included the use of code words to conceal their criminal dealings, and because the Government presented no expert witness to interpret those words, the District Court could not have properly found that a criminal conspiracy existed, that Mr. Hall participated in it, or that the statements were made in the course of and in furtherance of the conspiracy. But Mr. Hall fails to specifically identify any co-conspirator hearsay statements that were actually admitted at trial against him; nor does he provide citations to the record where these statements might be found. See Tenth Cir. R. 28.2(C)(2), (3)(a). Due to these failures, this court cannot even attempt to assess the merits of his argument. United States v. McClatchey, 217 F.3d 823, 835-36 (10th Cir.2000). As such, the issue is waived. Id. at 836. 3 18