United States v. Juan Meraz

MEMORANDUM

Juan Carlos Meraz appeals a jury conviction for importation of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960. The government did not charge the drug quantity, which would have triggered a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years under 21 U.S.C. § 960 (b)(1)(H). The district court denied Meraz’s motion to dismiss the information as deficient for failing to allege that Meraz knew the drug type and quantity. The district court varied from the advisory guidelines sentencing range and sentenced Meraz to seventy months in custody, followed by five years of supervised release.

At trial, the district court allowed the government to introduce excerpts from two recorded jail telephone calls between Meraz and his family as admissions by a party opponent under Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2). The court excluded excerpts from two different calls—in which Meraz denied his guilt—as inadmissible hearsay. Meraz argues that the government’s excerpts were misleading and the court violated Federal Rule of Evidence 106 (Rule of Completeness) by excluding the additional calls Meraz sought to introduce. Meraz also asserts that this court should reverse the conviction because…