United States v. Robert Zelinka

LIVELY, Circuit Judge.

This appeal from a jury conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and unlawful use of communication facilities raises several claims of reversible error in the district court proceedings. The two most serious challenges involve an unauthorized contact with jurors and the admission of evidence that the defendant contends should have been excluded under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b). Zelinka does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence, and we will discuss the claimed errors in turn after briefly stating the facts.

I

On December 16, 1986, a grand jury in the…