Presumption of Innocence Was Not Violated by Officer's Testimony on Modus Operandi of Drug Traffickers, Says 7th Circuit

The Seventh Circuit has issued an opinion rejecting a criminal defendant's argument that his entitlement to a presumption of innocence was violated when the trial court permitted a police officer to offer his expert opinion that drug traffickers do not normally engage in transactions if innocent adults are present at the scene. The defendant raised no Rule 702 objection at trial, and the panel found that no presumption-of-innocence violation occurred, because in combination with other evidence, the testimony rationally supported an inference of defendant's guilt, without mandating that the jurors actually accept the inference. The court left for another day the question whether such testimony would be sufficient to support a conviction if it were the only evidence of guilt. See United States v. Garcia, No. 04-3159 (7th Cir. Feb. 28, 2006) (Coffey, Easterbrook, & Williams, JJ.).