May 20th, 2017

United States v. Ocampo-Vergara

Dockets: 15-41235 , 15-41286
Opinion Date: May 19, 2017
Judge: Jerry E. Smith
Areas of Law: Criminal Law

Defendants Ocampo-Vergara, Salazar, and Ortiz-Fernandez were convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin. The Fifth Circuit affirmed, holding that the evidence was sufficient to sustain the conviction; Ortiz-Salazar's evidentiary challenges failed because all the evidence at issue was relevant to show that he was a member of the conspiracy and none of it was unfairly prejudicial; the district court did not plainly err by permitting the testimony of a DEA agent where Ortiz-Salazar failed to show that there was a reasonable probability that his trial would have come out differently but for the illegitimate aspects of the agent's testimony; and, even assuming that the district court erred by admitting certain summary charts, such error was harmless.