United States v. Flecha
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
539 F.2d 874 (1976)

- Written by Darius Dehghan, JD
Facts
Erasmus Flecha (defendant), Ernesto Gonzalez, and three other people were arrested for importing marijuana. While they were under arrest, Gonzalez said to Flecha, “Why so much excitement? If we are caught, we are caught.” In making this statement, Gonzalez was acknowledging that he and Flecha were culpable. Flecha was silent in response to Gonzalez’s statement. At Flecha’s trial, the government (plaintiff) introduced Gonzalez’s statement. The statement was offered to prove that Flecha agreed with Gonzalez that they were culpable. The district-court judge admitted Gonzalez’s out-of-court statement. Aside from Gonzalez’s statement, there was significant evidence of Flecha’s involvement in importing marijuana. The jury convicted Flecha. Flecha appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Friendly, J.)
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