United States v. Jeremiah C. Schoneberg

This is a Confrontation Clause case.

Facts

Jeremiah Schoneberg was charged in an eleven-defendant indictment for participating in a marijuana-distribution and money-laundering conspiracy. But he was tried alone. Robert Woodbury, the undisputed head of the group, had pled guilty and been sentenced pursuant to a plea bargain to serve a little under four years. In Schoneberg’s trial, Woodbury, another conspirator who had also pled guilty pursuant to a plea bargain, and Schoneberg’s ex-fíancé testified for the government. Schoneberg testified on his own behalf.

It was undisputed that when Woodbury, Schoneberg, and the other defendants named in the indictment were in high school together, Woodbury regularly sold marijuana to Schoneberg, and Woodbury and Schoneberg were friends. In high school, Schoneberg resold marijuana he had bought from Woodbury, though the quantities were disputed. The high-school dealing was long before the period of the conspiracy charged in the indictment.

After high school, the two remained friends, though they were less close because Schoneberg lived in other places for substantial periods. During the period of the alleged conspiracy, they were living in…