Opinion ID: 663117
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidence of Kozinski's involvement in the conspiracy

Text: 40 Based on all of the above factors, the evidence presented at trial formed a sufficient basis for a jury verdict that Kozinski was a co-conspirator with Avery. The taped telephone conversations between Kozinski and Avery allow a jury to infer that Kozinski had resale customers and she received supply from Avery. In one conversation on June 30, 1989, Kozinski expressed concern that she had not heard from Avery in some time. She mentioned that one of her acquaintances, who was also concerned that Kozinski had not heard from Avery, lamented what ... am I gonna do. Kozinski responded by saying relax ... if somethin' happens I'm sure I'd know. Avery testified that he understood Kozinski to be referring to her customer who impatiently sought cocaine from her, and that Kozinski was telling her to relax while she contacted her supplier, Avery. Viewing this conversation in the light most favorable to the government, we find that the jury could reasonably draw that same inference. This is evidence of Kozinski's role as distributor. 41 The financing arrangement between Avery and Kozinski also suggests that she acted as a distributor during an ongoing relationship. Avery fronted cocaine to Kozinski, then when she repaid him he gave her a fresh supply. Selling cocaine to Kozinski on credit suggests that Avery took a stake in her business--he received payment after, and as a result of, her resale. Although standing alone, the credit transactions are insufficient evidence of an agreement for Kozinski to be a distributor, 8 when taken with the evidence of her resale that inference does follow. The quantity of the drugs sold is also relevant. Avery sold cocaine to Kozinski thirty to forty times in amounts ranging from one-eighth ounce to three ounces. Some of these transactions took place at a time when Kozinski was pregnant. Because of the amounts and Kozinski's pregnancy, a jury could reasonably conclude the cocaine was not for personal use. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, the strongest inference is that a pregnant woman is not going to consume three ounces of cocaine. 42 Kozinski rarely needed to negotiate the terms of the sales with Avery; rather, she merely requested amounts. Furthermore they communicated in code. Kozinski's home phone number was located in Avery's personal phone book also. All of these factors suggest standardized transactions and lower transaction costs in the business as well as a continuing relationship. Finally, a search of Kozinski's residence revealed, a triple-beam scale, drug paraphernalia, and powdered mixture used to dilute cocaine for resale. 43 The overall evidence is more than sufficient to show: that Kozinski was involved in a long-term business relationship with Avery where he supplied drugs; she prepared them for resale to her customers; and each person had a stake in the other's business (i.e. they were joint venturers). For all of the above reasons, the jury could reasonably conclude that Kozinski knowingly entered into an agreement with Avery to be a distributor of the drugs he sold her. 44 Kozinski also objects to the district court allowing Avery to testify about the context and meaning of conversations to which he was a party. Specifically, Avery testified that when Kozinski was speaking about another person, he believed she was speaking about her customer. At trial, counsel for Kozinski objected that this was impermissible opinion testimony of a lay witness and excludable under Federal Rule of Evidence 701. The district court overruled the objection. 45 We will only reverse a trial court's evidentiary ruling if it abused its discretion. Taylor, 920 F.2d at 1375. In this case the defendant argued that this was impermissible opinion testimony. Avery was a participant in those conversations and was testifying about his understanding of the thoughts that were being communicated to him. Similarly in Binkley, a witness testified that he understood a reference in a phone conversation to the other thing to mean cocaine. 903 F.2d at 1134-35. This court held that a jury could therefore reasonably conclude that the interpretation was correct. 46 Avery certainly had personal knowledge of his own mental processes during those conversations and is competent to testify regarding them. If Kozinski intended something other than what Avery perceived, she was free to testify that Avery misunderstood her. At that point the jury could weigh the credibility of both interpretations and reach a conclusion. Because Avery was merely testifying about his impressions about what was being communicated to him, the district court did not abuse its discretion by allowing the testimony. 47 Kozinski's final argument, that she was entitled to an instruction applying the buyer-seller defense to the telephone charges, bears no scrutiny in light of our holding in Binkley, and our holding in section II.A.2. of this opinion.