United States v. McGregor, 2011 WL 5025835

Defendants McGregor, Coker, Geddie, Means, Preuitt, Ross, Smith, Walker, Crosby were charged in a 39-count indictment involving federal programs bribery, extortion, honest services, mail and wire fraud, money laundering, false statements, obstruction, and conspiracy.
The court admitted co-conspirator statements on a preponderance of the evidence for admissibility, with Crosby ultimately not bound by those statements.
Trial included wiretaps, recordings, and surveillance of lawmakers Beason, Lewis, and others; Beason and Lewis were found to lack credibility due to racist motives and political strategy.
Evidence showed a conspiracy to pass SB380 to legalize electronic bingo, financed by illicit campaign contributions and bribes to secure votes from Alabama lawmakers.
The government sought to admit over 1000 recordings and communications; the court assessed admissibility under Fed. R. Evid. 104(a) and 801(d)(2)(E).
The court concluded the conspiracy existed by a preponderance of the evidence and that most co-conspirator statements were admissible against six defendants but not Crosby; verdicts on guilt beyond a reasonable doubt remained for the jury.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether co-conspirator statements were admissible	Beason/Lewis recordings show conspiracy, supporting admissibility	Need independent evidence before admitting statements	Admissible against six defendants; Crosby excluded
Whether a conspiracy existed and the defendants joined	Evidence shows agreement to pass SB380 via illicit means	Some defendants contested the scope or existence of an illegal conspiracy	Conspiracy proved by preponderance; six defendants joined
Credibility impact of Beason and Lewis on conspiracy findings	Beason and Lewis aided the investigation and corroborated recordings	Beason and Lewis were credible witnesses for the government	Beason and Lewis not credible; racist motive shown; credibility weighed but did not defeat conspiracy proof
Whether bribes disguised as campaign contributions violate bribery laws	Campaign contributions can be illegal if quid pro quo is present	Campaign contributions are protected political speech; legality unclear	Bribery in the form of campaign contributions proven; conduct illegal
Whether Crosby was part of the conspiracy	Evidence suggested Crosby could be implicated	Crosby lacked knowledge or voluntary participation	Crosby not proven to be a conspirator; conspiracy count dismissed for him

Bourjaily v. United States, 483 U.S. 171 (U.S. 1987) (preponderance standard for preliminary questions of fact)
Hewes, 729 F.2d 1302 (11th Cir. 1984) (co-conspirator statements admissibility and Rule 104 discretion)
Miller, 664 F.2d 826 (11th Cir. 1981) (conspiracy evidence may be proven by circumstantial evidence)
Fernandez, 892 F.2d 976 (11th Cir. 1989) (agreement to commit a crime inferred from conduct)
Siegelman, 640 F.3d 1159 (11th Cir. 2011) (campaign contributions and bribery in political context; notice of illegality)
Citizens United v. FEC, 130 S. Ct. 876 (U.S. 2010) (bribery laws apply to campaign contributions when quid pro quo established)
Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30 (U.S. 1986) (racially polarized voting and minority vote impact considerations)
LULAC v. Clements, 999 F.2d 831 (5th Cir. 1993) (racial animus and voting rights considerations in legitimacy of measures)
Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206 (11th Cir. 1981) (binding pre-1981 Fifth Circuit decisions in the Eleventh Circuit)
United States v. Chandler, 388 F.3d 796 (11th Cir. 2004) (conspiracy requires agreement to commit a crime; evidence can be circumstantial)