US v. Larios , No. 08-1299

District court's conviction of defendants for drug related crimes, after they were captured on audio/video participating in drug transactions in a motel room with an undercover agent, is affirmed where: 1) any error in admitting the recording at sentencing was harmless, and as such, question of whether the defendants had a reasonably expectation of privacy in the motel room need not be addressed; and 2) district court's rejection of a defendant's challenge to the admission of the audio recording at trial is affirmed as defendant's brief engagement with the motel room did not justify a reasonably expectation of privacy in the room, and thus his communications were not protected by Title III.     

Read US v. Larios , No. 08-1299

Appellate Information

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts

Decided January 29, 2010

Judges

Before:  Lynch, Chief Judge, Gajarsa and Lipez, Circuit Judges

Opinion by  Circuit Judge Lipez

Counsel

For Appellant: J. Hilary Billings, Oscar Cruz, Jr,  Stephen Paul Maidman

For Appellee:     Mark T. Quinlivan, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom Michael K. Loucks, Acting United States Attorney,