01-3506 U.S. v. Conn

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“Even a lay person familiar with firearms in general would not have the expertise to distinguish between firearms that are collector’s items and firearms that are not. Agent McCart’s opinion was unnecessary as a descriptive tool. The jury was shown pictures of Mr. Conn’s firearms, the number and type of firearms were entered into evidence, and Agent McCart described the firearms in detail while narrating a videotape recorded during the ATF search of Mr. Conn’s house. Agent McCart was assisting the jury by applying his years of ATF experience to give the jurors a better understanding of the nature of Mr. Conn’s firearms stash. Agent McCart’s testimony was not based only on his observations; rather, the testimony was based on his accumulated expertise obtained through experience and training. He was asked to draw upon his accumulated knowledge and to provide information to the jury about the appropriate characterization of Mr. Conn’s firearms: would the firearms market consider these weapons to be collector’s items or suitable only for use as firearms? Testimony of this nature is expert testimony; it could have been offered by any individual with specialized knowledge of the collector’s market in firearms. It did not have to be offered by one of the investigating agents.

“Experts in narcotics dealing typically are qualified based upon their field experience. See United States v. Allen, 269 F.3d 842, 846 (7th Cir. 2001); United States v. Griffith, 118 F.3d 318, 321-22 (5th Cir. 1997). Courts have looked to the agent’s years of experience as well as the number of narcotics cases in which the agent was involved. See Griffith, 118 F.3d at 322-23; Hubbard, 61 F.3d at 1274; United States v. Cotton, 22 F.3d 182, 185 (8th Cir. 1994). In these cases, experienced narcotics investigators applied the knowledge gained through years of experience and, essentially, described for the jury what they knew about narcotics dealers. Agent McCart’s testimony is based on a similar methodology. He was asked to appraise, on the basis of his past experience and training, the value of the firearms found in Mr. Conn’s residence. On this record, we cannot say that the district court abused its discretion in determining that the evidence ought to be allowed. The situation here is not, however, a paradigmatic example of how such an issue ought to be developed at trial. The Government never actually sought to have the agent certified as an expert and, indeed, on appeal, has argued that his testimony was not expert testimony. We do not believe that this infirmity is fatal because the agent was required to state the basis of his expertise, and the defense counsel was given ample opportunity to examine the agent about his background before the court determined to go forward with the testimony.”

Affirmed.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Barker, J., Ripple, J.