Opinion ID: 202877
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Use of the Adoptive Admission Against Duval

Text: Duval's next claim of error concerns the district court's decision to admit against him the testimony of Dyott, who claimed that Doucette said that he and Duval wanted to sell firearms in their possession. The Government claimed that Dyott's testimony implicated Duval because Duval was present when the incriminating statement was made yet did not attempt to disassociate himself from it, and thus was admissible as an adoptive admission by an opponent party. See Fed. R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(B). [5] On January 27, 2005, Duval filed a written motion to exclude the use of Dyott's testimony as inadmissible hearsay. On February 4, 2005, the district court denied Duval's pretrial motion without prejudice to its renewal during trial. At the Government's request, the statement was admitted at trial. While the admissibility of evidence is ordinarily reviewed for abuse of discretion, United States v. Barrow, 448 F.3d 37, 42 (1st Cir.2006), we review the case at bar for plain error because Duval failed to interpose a contemporaneous objection at trial. Udemba v. Nicoli, 237 F.3d 8, 16 (1st Cir.2001); see also United States v. Desimone, No. 05-2314, 2007 WL 1633556 at  (1st Cir. June 7, 2007) (reviewing the admission of hearsay for plain error). Under the plain error standard, an appellant must demonstrate that (1) there was an error; (2) the error was plain; and (3) the error affected substantial rights. United States v. Tom, 330 F.3d 83, 93 (1st Cir.2003) (quoting Johnson v. United States, 520 U.S. 461, 466-67, 117 S.Ct. 1544, 137 L.Ed.2d 718 (1997)). In addition, the error must have seriously affect[ed] the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings. Id. (quoting Johnson, 520 U.S. at 466-67, 117 S.Ct. 1544). We have long recognized so-called adoptive admissions, including admissions by silence or acquiescence, as admissible against a party-opponent pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)(B). United States v. Fortes, 619 F.2d 108, 115 (1st Cir.1980). In United States v. Miller, we elaborated, stating that a party's agreement with a fact stated by another may be inferred from (or `adopted' by) silence . . . when (i) a statement is made in a party's presence, (ii) the nature of the statement is such that it normally would induce the party to respond, and (iii) the party nonetheless fails to take exception. 478 F.3d 48, 51 (1st Cir.2007). Alleged admissions by silence may be properly submitted to the jury only if a reasonable jury could properly find the ultimate fact in favor of the proponent of the evidence. United States v. Barletta, 652 F.2d 218, 219 (1st Cir.1981). In the present case, Dyott testified as to the incriminating nature of Doucette's statement and placed Duval at the scene of the conversation. Duval argues that these foundational facts  which were proffered by the Government  were insufficient to prove that he heard the statement, and thus for it to be admitted as an adoptive admission. While in some cases, the paucity of facts introduced at trial precludes any reasonably grounded finding of actual acquiescence, see, e.g., United States v. Moore, 522 F.2d 1068, 1076 (9th Cir.1975), we have left the resolution of substantial yet conflicting testimony for the jury, see, e.g., United States v. Wiseman, 814 F.2d 826, 829 (1st Cir.1987). This same principle applies to cases in which the facts give rise to conflicting but plausible inferences. In the present case, the trial court properly found that the Government laid an adequate foundation for the admission of Dyott's testimony by offering testimony that the conversation between Dyott and Doucette took place in a small room, and that Duval was in that room, testimony from which it could be reasonably inferred that Duval heard Doucette's statements. Although Duval offered the contrary testimony of Ramos, who stated that he did not hear the conversation between Dyott and Doucette, the ultimate question of whether to believe Ramos's testimony and to infer from it that Duval also did not hear Doucette was properly left to the jury. Because the court properly found that a foundation existed for the admission of Dyott's testimony against Duval, we see no basis for concluding that the district court erred, plainly or otherwise, in admitting his testimony against Duval.