United States v. Kaleena Morales, 720 F.3d 1194

Morales was convicted on one count of conspiracy to transport aliens and three counts of transporting aliens for private financial gain under 8 U.S.C. § 1324.
Border Patrol field forms, Field 826 (I-826), were admitted at trial and contained aliens' statements and signatures admitting illegal presence.
Morales challenged the admission of Field 826s under the Confrontation Clause and Rule 803(6) hearsay; the district court ruled Field 826s non-testimonial and admissible under Rule 803(6).
On appeal, the government conceded the 803(6) basis was improper for government/public records, and argued public records (803(8)) could justify admission if trustworthy.
Key factual support included three aliens encountered in Morales’s vehicle, Field 826s documenting their status, and Agent Wycoff’s database checks showing absence of documentation for presence in the U.S.
The panel held the Field 826s are non-testimonial and not admissible hearsay under Rule 803(8), but the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt given other strong evidence of alienage.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Confrontation Clause applicability	Morales argues Field 826s admit testimonial statements of aliens and agents without cross-examination.	Field 826s are non-testimonial administrative records; no cross-examination is required.	No Confrontation Clause violation; Field 826s deemed non-testimonial.
Hearsay admissibility under Rule 803(8) for Field 826s	Biographical statements and aliens’ admissions within Field 826s are inadmissible hearsay not covered by 803(8).	Public records exception could authorize admissibility if trustworthy.	Field 826s statements do not qualify under 803(8); district court abused by admitting them under this exception.
Authentication of Field 826s	Field 826s lacked proper authentication.	Agent Wycoff authenticated by custodian testimony and linkage to A-files.	Authentication was adequate; no reversible error based on authentication alone.
Harmlessness of error	Admission of Field 826s significantly affected verdict.	Sufficient independent evidence established aliens’ unlawful presence.	Admitting the Field 826s was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt; judgment affirmed.

Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 557 U.S. 305 (S. Ct. 2009) (testimony and that not all records are non-testimonial)
Davis v. Washington, 547 U.S. 813 (S. Ct. 2006) (Confrontation Clause applies to testimonial statements)
Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (S. Ct. 2004) (established core testimonial statements rule)
Orozco-Acosta, 607 F.3d 1156 (9th Cir. 2010) (public records and primary purpose analysis; aliens’ statements not automatically testimonial)
Mendez, 514 F.3d 1035 (10th Cir. 2008) (limitations on public records and hearsay for outsiders' statements)
Pena-Gutierrez, 222 F.3d 1087 (9th Cir. 2000) (alien statements to immigration officer; hearsay-within-hearsay issue)
Diaz-Lopez, 625 F.3d 1198 (9th Cir. 2010) (absence of documentation as admissible matter under Rule 803(10))
Ballesteros-Selinger, 454 F.3d 973 (9th Cir. 2006) (A-file documents; public records considerations)