Opinion ID: 457774
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Victor Testimony

Text: 77 Maynard Victor testified that he received several telephone calls from unindicted co-conspirator Hardy. Hardy informed Victor of a gasoline price increase in the Pocatello market, and asked if Victor's company would support the increase. Because there were a number of conversations, Victor was unable to recall the exact dates on which the conversations occurred. Appellants contend that this testimony was not admissible under Rule 801(d)(2)(E) because (1) the statements were not shown to be made during the conspiracy; and (2) they were not made in furtherance of the conspiracy. 78 We reject both contentions. First, the evidence showed that the statements were made during the five-year life of the conspiracy. Victor was able to recall four conversations with Hardy which occurred within the five years previous to trial, which would have been within the period covered by the indictment. Such an approximate time frame provides a sufficient foundation for admissibility. See United States v. Saavedra, 684 F.2d 1293, 1298 (9th Cir.1982) (witness' testimony that he received fraudulent telephone calls within two to three years prior to trial is sufficient approximation of time frame to provide adequate foundation for admission of co-conspirator statements). Second, Hardy's statements were made in an attempt to solicit Victor's cooperation, and thus were made in furtherance of the conspiracy. United States v. Layton, 720 F.2d at 556. Therefore, the trial court did not err in admitting Victor's testimony. VII 79 ADMISSIBILITY OF MOUNTAIN BELL TELEPHONE RECORDS 80 Appellants claim that the district court erred in admitting Mountain Bell Telephone computerized billing records and subscriber information demonstrating a pattern of telephone calls between the appellants and between appellants and other gasoline retailers, which corresponded in time to gasoline price increases. Appellants argue that the government failed to lay an adequate foundation for the admission of Mountain Bell records under the business records exception to the hearsay rule (Fed.R.Evid. 803(6)). 81 A writing is admissible under Fed.R.Evid. 803(6) if two foundational facts are proved: (1) the writing is made or transmitted by a person with knowledge at or near the time of the incident recorded, and (2) the record is kept in the course of regularly conducted business activity. United States v. Ordonez, 737 F.2d at 805. These facts must be proved through the testimony of the custodian of the records or other qualified witness, though not necessarily the declarant. Id. The record will not be admissible, however, if the source of information or the method or circumstances of preparation indicate a lack of trustworthiness. Id. We review the district court's decision to admit evidence under the business records exception to the hearsay rule for an abuse of discretion. Burgess v. Premier Corp., 727 F.2d at 833, 835-36. 82 A. Computer-Generated Toll and Billing Records 83 Appellants contend that the government failed to lay an adequate foundation for the admission of computer-generated toll and billing records which were offered through the testimony of Manning, a Mountain Bell billing supervisor. Appellants argue that because Manning testified that he had no knowledge of the maintenance and technical operation of the computer which generated the records, and that the records were generated by another office of the telephone company, he was not a proper custodian through which the records could be introduced. 84 Appellants' arguments are meritless. It is not necessary that the computer programmer testify in order to authenticate computer-generated records. See Notes of the Committee on the Judiciary, S.Rep. No. 93-1277, 93rd Cong., 2d Sess. 17 (1974) ([I]n the case of a computer printout [the foundation for its admissibility must be established by] the company's computer programmer or one who has knowledge of the particular record system.) (emphasis added); United States v. Young Bros., Inc., 728 F.2d 682, 694 (5th Cir.) (testimony of state official responsible for custody of computer-generated records was sufficient to authenticate records; computer programmer need not testify), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 105 S.Ct. 246, 83 L.Ed.2d 184 (1984); see also United States v. De Georgia, 420 F.2d 889, 893 n. 11 (9th Cir.1969) (government need not produce expert testimony as to mechanical accuracy of computer where it presented evidence that computer was sufficiently accurate that company relied upon it in conducting its business). 85 Manning testified that he was familiar with the methods by which the computer system records information. Manning further testified that he was the custodian of the records, that they had been made contemporaneously by the computer itself, and that they were made in the regular course of business. Manning's testimony was sufficient to establish the accuracy and trustworthiness of the computer-generated records. B. Customer Copies of Mountain Bell Records 86 Appellants also challenge the admission of copies of telephone bills received by the V-1 Oil Company and introduced through the company's vice-president, Gary Huskinson. Appellants argue that Huskinson was not a proper custodian or other qualified witness who could attest to the authenticity of the customer copies of the records, relying upon NLRB v. First Termite Control Co., 646 F.2d 424 (9th Cir.1981). 87 Appellants' reliance on First Termite is misplaced. In First Termite, we held inadmissible bills whose foundation was provided by an employee of a company which received the records, who had no knowledge of how the business made or maintained its bills or any interest in verifying their accuracy. Id. at 428-29. Moreover, in First Termite the record did not contain any circumstances that would demonstrate the trustworthiness or accuracy of the records at issue nor was there any testimony regarding the preparation of the records. Id.; see also Ordonez, 737 F.2d at 805 (where no evidence was offered by any person that records were kept by persons having knowledge of the facts recorded, that the entries were made at or near the time of the transaction, or that the persons who made the entries were truthful and had a clear recollection of the facts, ledger entries were inadmissible because there was no knowledgeable individual present at trial who could be subjected to meaningful cross-examination). In contrast, in the instant case a proper foundation for the introduction of the records was established through Manning's testimony regarding the method of preparation and accuracy of the records. The record discloses no reason to doubt the trustworthiness of the records. The trial court did not err in admitting the customer copies. 88 C. Subscriber Information Excerpts From Microfiche Records 89 Sheila Workman, an assistant supervisor in Mountain Bell's security department, testified that she prepared exhibits summarizing and listing subscriber information stored on microfiche at government counsel's request. The information showed the name, address, and telephone number of each subscriber and the date service was initiated. Appellants contend that admission of these lists violated Fed.R.Evid. 803(6), 1002 (the best evidence rule), and was not admissible under Rule 1006 (summaries of voluminous documents). 90 We agree that the lists should not have been admitted under Rule 803(6). The summaries were prepared in response to litigation rather than in the regular course of business. Business records prepared solely for purposes of litigation lack trustworthiness. Paddack v. Dave Christensen, Inc., 745 F.2d 1254, 1258-59 (9th Cir.1984). Furthermore, the lists were not admissible as summaries under Rule 1006 because the government failed to provide appellants with a copy of the underlying documents prior to the introduction of the summary. See Paddack, 745 F.2d at 1259 (proponent of summary must show that (1) the underlying materials on which summary was based are admissible, and (2) underlying documents were made available to opposing party for inspection prior to their introduction). 8 91 Although admission of the lists was error, it was not prejudicial. The subscriber information contained in Workman's summaries was ultimately admitted in the form of computer-generated bills through the testimony of Manning. Therefore, the error in admitting the lists was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. VIII JURY INSTRUCTIONS 92 Finally, appellants contend that the district court erred in failing to give appellants' proposed jury instructions. A defendant is entitled to an instruction concerning his theory of the case if it is supported by law and has some foundation in the evidence. United States v. Echeverry, 759 F.2d 1451, 1455 (9th Cir.1985) (as amended). So long as the instructions given fairly and adequately cover the issues presented, the formulation of the instructions or choice of language is a matter within the trial court's discretion. Id. 93 A. The Intent Element of a Sherman Act Violation 94 Appellants argue that the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to give appellants' proposed instruction regarding the intent element of a Sherman Act violation. Appellants' proposed instruction was modeled on an instruction which we approved in United States v. Krasn, 614 F.2d 1229, 1237 n. 8 (9th Cir.1980). 9 95 Appellants claim that the district court's instruction was deficient because it failed to lay out the two-tiered intent element of a Sherman Act violation explained by the Supreme Court in United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 438 U.S. 422, 443-44, 98 S.Ct. 2864, 2876-77, 57 L.Ed.2d 854 (1978), and followed by this court in Krasn (i.e., that the intent element would be met only if the jury found that the defendants' acts either (1) had the effect of reducing or eliminating competition and were undertaken with knowledge of the probable effect, or (2) were undertaken with the conscious purpose of reducing or eliminating competition). 96 The trial court instructed the jury that in order to find that the defendants were members of a conspiracy, the jury must find that each defendant had a specific intent. Specific intent was defined by the trial court as voluntarily and intentionally doing an act which the law forbids, intending to disobey the law. Further, the trial court instructed the jury that each defendant had to know of the general purpose and scope of the conspiracy and adopt this as his own. 97 We are persuaded that the trial court's instruction informed the jury as to the alternative intent requirements of the Gypsum/Krasn test. Although not given in the format of the instructions approved in Gypsum and Krasn, the trial court's instruction, taken as a whole, did not constitute error. 98 B. Instructions Regarding Independent Decision-Making 99 Appellants next contend that the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to give appellants' proposed jury instruction regarding the distinction between meeting for the purpose of fixing prices and meeting for the purpose of exchanging information to be used in independent decision-making. 10 Appellants rely on United States v. Standard Oil Co., 316 F.2d 884 (7th Cir.1963). 100 In Standard Oil, the Seventh Circuit held that an oil company is not precluded from acting in a normal fashion in setting its prices merely because it hears of a competitor's price change, so long as the pricing was not pursuant to an understanding or agreement. Id. at 896. The essence of Standard Oil is that for a pricing policy to be violative of the Sherman Act, it must be the result of an illegal agreement. See also Zoslaw v. MCA Distributing Corp., 693 F.2d 870, 885 (9th Cir.1982) (evidence of meetings is not sufficient to prove a conspiracy, absent an agreement), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1085, 103 S.Ct. 1777, 76 L.Ed.2d 349 (1983). By instructing the jury that there could be no Sherman Act violation absent an illegal agreement, the trial court properly encompassed the distinction between price-fixing and exchanging price information in its instruction. 101 C. Instruction Regarding Overlapping Conspiracies 102 Finally, appellants assert that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to give appellants' proposed instruction concerning the import of proof of multiple overlapping conspiracies where a single overarching conspiracy is charged. 11 Appellants argue that because the jury could possibly have been confused by the defendants' participation in a number of smaller conspiracies, the court was required to instruct the jury to find whether the defendants had participated in the single conspiracy charged in the indictment. 103 The trial court instructed the jury that it was insufficient for the government to prove that the defendant was a member of any conspiracy; the government had to prove that the defendant was a member of the single conspiracy charged in the indictment. Thus, any variance between the indictment and the evidence was cured by the trial court's instruction, and appellants' claim of error is meritless. IX