United States v. Carlos Aguilar, AKA Cheeks
Opinion
Opinion
Trott, J.
After a two-day trial, a jury convicted Carlos Aguilar (“Aguilar”) of conspiring to distribute and to aid and abet the distribution of controlled substances. He was sentenced to 121 months. On appeal, Aguilar contends that the district court violated his rights under the Confrontation Clause by admitting the guilty pleas of non-testifying codefendants as evidence of the existence of a drug conspiracy. We disagree. We hold that the admission of an unavailable codefendant’s guilty plea does not violate an accused’s rights under the Confrontation Clause when that plea (1) is made under oath and with the representation of counsel, (2) is entered personally before a district judge who accepts the plea under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, (3) includes wholly self-inculpa-tory remarks, and (4) subjects the declar-ant to a risk of substantial imprisonment. A guilty plea that meets these criteria possesses particularized guarantees of trustworthiness sufficient to justify depriving the defendant of the opportunity to confront and cross-examine the declarant. Finding these criteria satisfied in this case, we affirm.