United States v. Carlos Aguilar, AKA Cheeks

OPINION

TROTT, Circuit Judge.

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…