United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25 (1st Cir. 2005). · Go Syfert
United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25 (1st Cir. 2005). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
93 citation events (93 in the last 25 years) across 23 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: United States v. Pontz (ca1, 2025-03-14)
Treatment trajectory · 2005 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
2005 2015 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 50 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Pontz
1st Cir. · 2025 · confidence medium
See United States v. Santiago, 560 F.3d 62, 66 (1st Cir. 2009) (holding that investigator's lay opinion on meaning of code words and phrases was admissible because he was "involved in the investigation, listened to over 90 percent of the [call] intercepts, [and] learned voices and patterns"); United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir. 2005) (holding that officer's lay opinion about prior drug arrests was admissible because he stated that he had "investigated, patrolled, or made arrests at drug points on more than 100 occasions"). - 14 - Pontz devotes most of his energy to challe…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) State v. Dosh
Idaho Ct. App. · 2024 · confidence medium
Evid. 701); United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir. 2005) (holding police officer’s opinion regarding drug points and drug packaging was admissible lay opinion under Fed.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) State v. Crudo
Kan. · 2024 · confidence medium
A review of caselaw from our state, other states, and federal precedent creates a rule that is murky at best. "'The line between expert testimony . . . and lay opinion testimony . . . is not easy to draw.'" United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir. 2005).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Agramonte-Quezada
1st Cir. · 2022 · confidence medium
However, "we have previously upheld the admission of similar lay opinion testimony about drug distribution practices based on law enforcement experience." United States v. Norris, 21 F.4th 188, 198 (1st Cir. 2021) (citing Moon, 802 F.3d at 147-48 ; United States v. Valdivia, 680 F.3d 33, 50-51 (1st Cir. 2012); United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 29 (1st Cir. 2005)). "[W]e have long held that government witnesses with experience in drug investigations may explain the drug trade and translate coded language for juries, either through lay or, if qualified, expert testimony." United State…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Norris
1st Cir. · 2021 · confidence medium
See United States v. Moon, 802 F.3d 135 , 147–48 (1st Cir. 2015) (upholding lay opinion testimony from law enforcement officer regarding drug dealers' frequent possession of firearms "to protect themselves and their drugs"); United States v. Valdivia, 680 F.3d 33 , 50–51 (1st Cir. 2012) (same regarding drug traffickers' typical use of third parties' names in subscribing to cell phone services); United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 29 (1st Cir. 2005) (same regarding heroin seized at drug points typically being packaged in "aluminum decks" like the ones found in that case).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) State v. Jonathan S. Ostrowski
S.C. Ct. App. · 2021 · confidence medium
See, e.g., United States v. Perez, 962 F.3d 420, 436 (9th Cir. 2020) (finding FBI agent could "match[] gang members to monikers and vice versa, translate[] gang jargon, and identif[y] indicia of drug trafficking, such as small plastic bags and digital scales" because he "directly observed the communications, meetings, and searches he described"); id. at 436–37 (finding FBI agent's "interpretation of the wiretapped conversation . . . is just the kind of 'ambiguous conversation[]' a lay witness with direct knowledge of an investigation—and, in this case, long hours spent listening to wiretap…
cited Cited as authority (rule) Marquez-Marin v. Lynch
D.P.R. · 2021 · confidence medium
Evid. 701 is not easy to draw.” United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir. 2005) (quoting United States v. Colón Osorio, 360 F.3d 48, 52-53 (1st Cir. 2004)) (alterations omitted).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) State of Iowa v. Jacob A. Boothby
Iowa · 2020 · confidence medium
Capra, Federal Rules of Evidence Manual 701–14 (9th ed. 2006))); United States v. Ayala–Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir. 2005) (“[T]he line between expert testimony under [Federal Rule of Evidence] 702 . . . and lay opinion testimony under [Federal Rule of Evidence] 701 . . . is not easy to draw.” (first and third alteration in original) (quoting United States v. Colón Osorio, 360 F.3d 48 , 52–53 (1st Cir. 2004))). 29 explaining the purpose for the scientific, technical, or specialized knowledge distinction between expert and lay testimony.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) State of Iowa v. Jacob A. Boothby
Iowa · 2020 · confidence medium
Capra, Federal Rules of Evidence Manual 701–14 (9th ed. 2006))); United States v. Ayala–Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir. 2005) (“[T]he line between expert testimony under [Federal Rule of Evidence] 702 . . . and lay opinion testimony under [Federal Rule of Evidence] 701 . . . is not easy to draw.” (first and third alteration in original) (quoting United States v. Colón Osorio, 360 F.3d 48 , 52–53 (1st Cir. 2004))). 29 explaining the purpose for the scientific, technical, or specialized knowledge distinction between expert and lay testimony.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Montijo-Maysonet
1st Cir. · 2020 · confidence medium
But as we've held time and again, Rule 701 lets in "particularized knowledge" that police officers gain on the job, so long as it's "well founded on [their] personal knowledge and susceptible to cross examination." Vega, 813 F.3d at 394 (explaining that in this circuit, a "police officer noticing patterns of behavior across criminal operations" — like code words or what a "drug point" looks like — "uses straightforward logic to conclude a defendant's behavior fits within that pattern and thus, does not need to be qualified as an expert") (quoting United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25…
cited Cited as authority (rule) Wade v. Clayton
D. Mass. · 2019 · confidence medium
Ayala–Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir. 2005)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Galatis
1st Cir. · 2017 · confidence medium
Lay Witnesses The judge allowed lay witnesses— an AHNVA patient, two primary care providers, and three AHVNA nurses — to testify as to their understandings of certain Medicare terms such as “skilled nursing services” and “homebound” in describing what they had done and why. 3 The defense objected at trial, but the testimony was perfectly permissible “lay experiential expertise ... ‘founded on personal knowledge and susceptible to cross-examination,’ ” United States v. Vega, 813 F.3d 386, 394 (1st Cir. 2016) (quoting United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir. …
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Vega (2×)
1st Cir. · 2016 · confidence medium
United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir.2005) (quoting Fed.R.Evid. 701, advisory committee’s note on 2000 amendment).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. De Jesus Sierra
2d Cir. · 2015 · confidence medium
Other circuits are split on the issue, which suggests that any error was “subject to reasonable dispute.” Compare United States v. Oriedo, 498 F.3d 593, 602-04 (7th Cir.2007) (holding that agent’s testimony about how drugs are packaged for distribution is not lay witness testimony in part because it “was not limited to what he observed in the search or to other facts derived exclusively from this particular investigation; instead, he brought the wealth of his experience as a narcotics officer to bear on those observations and made connections for the jury based on that specialized know…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Logan v. Gelb
D. Mass. · 2014 · signal: cf. · confidence medium
Cf. United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28-29 (1st Cir.2005) (holding that a police officer gave proper lay opinion testimony when he testified regarding how drug distribution points usually work and how heroin is usually packaged).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Brian Walpole
3rd Cir. · 2013 · signal: cf. · confidence medium
Cf. United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir. 2005) (noting that testimony about how *229 drug locations operate “was based on the requisite personal knowledge under Fed.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) King v. United States (2×)
D.C. · 2013 · confidence medium
Capra, Federal Rules of Evidence Manual 701-14 (9th ed. 2006))); United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir.2005) ("The line between expert testimony under Fed.R.Evid. 702 ... and lay opinion testimony under Fed.R.Evid. 701 ... is not easy to draw.” (quoting United States v. Colon Osorio, 360 F.3d 48, 52-53 (1st Cir.2004))). .
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Perez-Garcia v. Puerto Rico Ports Authority (2×) also: Cited "see"
D.P.R. · 2012 · confidence medium
Ayalar-Pizarro, 407 F.3d at 28 (citations omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted).
examined Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Valdivia (8×) also: Cited "see"
1st Cir. · 2012 · confidence medium
Indeed, as we have previously noted, "the same witness—for example, a law enforcement officer—may be qualified to `provide both lay and expert testimony in a single case.'" United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir.2005) (quoting Fed.R.Evid. 701, Advisory Committee's note).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) OFFICEMAX INC. v. Sousa
D. Me. · 2011 · confidence medium
The “line between expert testimony under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 ... and lay opinion testimony under Federal Rule of Evidence 701 ... is not an easy one to draw.” United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir.2005) (quoting United States v. Colón Osorio, 360 F.3d 48, 52-53 (1st Cir.2004)).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Raymond
D. Me. · 2010 · confidence medium
United States v. Page, 521 F.3d 101, 105 (1st Cir.2008) (citing United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir.2005)).
cited Cited as authority (rule) Kahrs International, Inc. v. United States
Ct. Intl. Trade · 2009 · confidence medium
Evid. 701... is not easy to draw.” United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1 Cir. 2005).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Santiago
1st Cir. · 2009 · confidence medium
“Rule 701 ... is meant to admit testimony based on the lay expertise a witness personally acquires through experience, often on the job.” United States v. Maher, 454 F.3d 13, 24 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1025 , 127 S.Ct. 568 , 166 L.Ed.2d 420 (2006); United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 546 U.S. 902 , 126 S.Ct. 247 , 163 *67 L.Ed.2d 226 (2005) (quoting Fed.R.Evid. 701 advisory committee’s note).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Carrillo-Morones
W.D. Tex. · 2008 · confidence medium
See United States v. Miranda, 248 F.3d 434, 441 (5th Cir.2001) (holding that testimony “concerning the meaning of certain code words used in [a] drug ring based on [an investigator’s] personal perceptions” constitutes lay opinion testimony), overruled on other grounds, United States v. Walker, 302 F.3d 322, 324 (5th Cir.2002); United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 29 (1st Cir.2005) (finding non-expert testimony where an agent testified as “to his experience on prior drug arrests that the heroin seized at drug points was [packaged in a certain way], and that in this case the drug…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Hilario-Hilario
1st Cir. · 2008 · confidence medium
The recurring problem is that “the same witness — for example, a law enforcement officer — may be qualified to ‘provide both lay and expert testimony in a single case.’ ” United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 546 U.S. 902 , 126 S.Ct. 247 , 163 L.Ed.2d 226 (2005) (quoting Fed.R.Evid. 701, advisory committee’s note).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Rooney v. Sprague Energy Corp.
D. Me. · 2007 · confidence medium
As the First Circuit has observed, the “line between expert testimony under Fed.R.Evid. 702 and lay opinion testimony under Fed.R.Evid. 701 is not easy to draw.” United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir.2005) (citation and internal punctuation omitted).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Oriedo
7th Cir. · 2007 · confidence medium
The Government urges this court to adopt the contrary approach outlined by the First Circuit in United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28-29 (1st Cir.2005), cert. denied, - U.S. -, 126 S.Ct. 247 , 163 L.Ed.2d 226 (2005) (No. 05-5436).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Oriedo, Patrick L.
7th Cir. · 2007 · confidence medium
See United States v. Hopkins, 310 F.3d 145 , 150- 51 (4th Cir. 2002); see also United States v. Watson, 260 F.3d 301, 307 (3d Cir. 2001) (collecting cases from the Second, Fifth, Eighth and Ninth Circuits holding “the operations of narcotics dealers [to be] a proper field of expertise”); United States v. Figueroa-Lopez, 125 F.3d 1241, 1245-46 (9th Cir. 1997) (disagreeing with the district court’s conclusion that certain details of narcotics trafficking practices were “common enough and require such a limited amount of expertise . . . that they can . . . be deemed lay witness opinion”…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Derrick Jones
11th Cir. · 2007 · confidence medium
And we have permitted officers testifying as lay witnesses to “give opinion testimony based on their perceptions and on their experience as police officers about the meaning of code words employed by the defendants in their intercepted telephone conversations.” United States v. Novaton, 271 F.3d 968, 1009 (11th Cir.2001). 2 For these reasons, the district court did not abuse its discretion in determining that Officer Otts’s testimony was permitted by Fed.R.Evid. 701. 3 *918 See United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28-29 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 126 S.Ct. 247 , 163 L.…
examined Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Chapman (3×) also: Cited "see"
4th Cir. · 2006 · confidence medium
As we explain below, while most of the challenged testimony reflected the “particularized knowledge that the witness had by virtue of his position,” United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir.) (internal quotation marks and *266 alteration omitted), cert. denied, - U.S. -, 126 S.Ct. 247 , 163 L.Ed.2d 226 (2005), that knowledge did not render the witness’s fiduciary-duty testimony improper under Rule 701.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Morin v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.
D. Me. · 2006 · confidence medium
The “line between expert testimony under Fed.R.Evid. 702 ... and lay opinion testimony under Fed.R.Evid. 701 ... is not easy to draw.” United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir.2005)(quoting United States v. Colon Osorio, 360 F.3d 48, 52-53 (1st Cir.2004)).
cited Cited as authority (rule) Downeast Ventures, Ltd. v. Washington County
D. Me. · 2006 · confidence medium
United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir.2005); Falconer, 421 *110 F.Supp.2d at 208.
examined Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Maher (3×) also: Cited "see", Cited "see, e.g."
1st Cir. · 2006 · confidence medium
R.Evid. 701, or as expert witnesses under Fed.R.Evid. 702. 10 See, e.g., United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 27-29 (1st Cir.2005).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Ortiz-Torres
1st Cir. · 2006 · confidence medium
The operative question with respect to the third requirement is “whether defendant has shown a reasonable probability the sentencing judge would, in a non-mandatory Guidelines system, have imposed a more lenient sentence.” United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 29 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 126 S.Ct. 247 , 163 L.Ed.2d 226 (2005).
cited Cited as authority (rule) Falconer v. Penn Maritime, Inc.
D. Me. · 2006 · confidence medium
United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir. 2005).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Vega-Ortiz
1st Cir. · 2005 · confidence medium
See, e.g., United States v. Villafane-Jimenez, 410 F.3d 74, 88 (1st Cir.2005); United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 29 (1st Cir. 2005).
examined Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Pinillos-Prieto (4×) also: Cited "see"
1st Cir. · 2005 · confidence medium
United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 27 (1st Cir.2005).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Padilla (2×)
1st Cir. · 2005 · confidence medium
See, e.g., United States v. Villafane-Jimenez, 410 F.3d 74, 88 (1st Cir.2005); United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 29 (1st Cir.2005); United States v. Vega, 398 F.3d 149, 154 (1st Cir.2005).
discussed Cited "see" State of Maine v. Abdirahmon A. Abdullahi
Me. · 2023 · signal: see · confidence high
Id.; see United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28-29 (1st Cir. 2005) (allowing an officer to testify as a lay witness because the testimony was based on knowledge that he obtained by virtue of his position as a police officer); United States v. Moon, 802 F.3d 135, 147-48 (1st Cir. 2015) (upholding lay opinion testimony in a drug case by an officer with significant experience identifying controlled substances when purchasing drugs undercover).
discussed Cited "see" State v. Smith
Idaho · 2022 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir. 2005); 1 McCormick on Evid. § 11 (8th ed.) (noting courts are frequently called on to analyze the “lay” opinion testimony of police officers and medical treatment providers).
cited Cited "see" Colón-Díaz v. United States
D.P.R. · 2012 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir.2005).
discussed Cited "see" United States v. Lipscomb
1st Cir. · 2008 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 29 (1st Cir.2005) (“It required no special expertise for Officer Mulero to conclude, based on his observations, that places which sell drugs are often protected by people with weapons.”).
discussed Cited "see" United States v. Page
1st Cir. · 2008 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir.2005). 2 Page further contends that the district court abused its discretion by permitting Agent Hedrick to testify, in conjunction with his lay testimony regarding drug dealers’ countersurveillance practices, that he did not know “at that time” what Page and Green were doing during the time periods in which they were out of his *106 “sight-line” on June 5, 2004, since the jury speculatively may have inferred from this wording that Agent Hedrick later had obtained evidence which the government did not adduce at trial, and w…
discussed Cited "see" United States v. White (2×)
6th Cir. · 2007 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir. 2005) (citation omitted) (observing that "[t]he line between expert testimony under Fed.R.Evid. 702 . . . and lay opinion testimony under Fed.R.Evid. 701 . . . is not easy to draw"); United States v. Cruz, 363 F.3d 187, 194 (2d Cir.2004) ("District courts must be especially vigilant in evaluating the admissibility of expert testimony where . . . a [witness] is called on to testify as a fact witness but also functions as an expert."); United States v. Perkins, 470 F.3d 150, 155 (4th Cir.2006) (citations omitted).
cited Cited "see" United States v. White
6th Cir. · 2007 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28 (1st Cir. 2005) (citation omitted) (observing that “[t]he line between expert testimony under Fed.
discussed Cited "see" United States v. Villafane-Jimenez
1st Cir. · 2005 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 29 (1st Cir.2005) (“A remand to correct a delegation error as to conditions of supervised release does not open up any other aspect: of a sentence for resentencing.”).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." ANDREW WILLIAMS v. STATE OF FLORIDA
Fla. Dist. Ct. App. · 2020 · signal: see also · confidence low
We have also explained that helpful testimony is typically “based on the lay expertise a witness personally acquires through experience, often on the job.” United States v. Vega, 813 F.3d 386, 394 (1st Cir. 2016) (quoting United States v. Maher, 454 F.3d 13, 24 (1st Cir. 2006) ); see also United States v. Ayala–Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25 , 28–29 (1st Cir. 2005).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Charles Johnson v. State of Florida
Fla. Dist. Ct. App. · 2018 · signal: see also · confidence low
We have also explained that helpful testimony is typically “based on the lay expertise a witness personally acquires through experience, often on the job.” United States v. Vega, 813 F.3d 386, 394 (1st Cir. 2016) (quoting United States v. Maher, 454 F.3d 13, 24 (1st Cir. 2006)); see also United States v. Ayala–Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25 , 28–29 (1st Cir. 2005).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Charles Johnson v. State of Florida
Fla. Dist. Ct. App. · 2018 · signal: see also · confidence low
We have also explained that helpful testimony is typically “based on the lay expertise a witness personally acquires through experience, often on the job.” United States v. Vega, 813 F.3d 386, 394 (1st Cir. 2016) (quoting United States v. Maher, 454 F.3d 13, 24 (1st Cir. 2006)); see also United States v. Ayala–Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25 , 28–29 (1st Cir. 2005).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." United States v. Spencer (2×)
1st Cir. · 2017 · signal: see also · confidence medium
We have also explained that helpful testimony is typically “based on the lay expertise. a witness personally acquires through experience, often on the job.” United States v. Vega, 813 F.3d 386, 394 (1st Cir. 2016) (quoting United States v. Maher, 454 F.3d 13, 24 (1st Cir. 2006)); see also United States v. Ayala-Pizarro, 407 F.3d 25, 28-29 (1st Cir. 2005).
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
UNITED STATES of America, Appellee,
v.
Luis Daniel AYALA-PIZARRO, Defendant, Appellant
04-1038.
Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
May 12, 2005.
407 F.3d 25
2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 8322
2005 WL 1119755
Maria Soledad Ramirez-Becerra, with whom Maria Soledad Ramirez-Becerra Law Office was on brief, for appellant., Thomas F. Klumper, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom H.S. Garcia, United States Attorney, and Nelson Pér-ez-Sosa, Assistant United States Attorney, Senior Appellate Attorney, were on brief, for appellee.
Torruella, Lynch, Lipez.
Cited by 63 opinions  |  Published
LYNCH, Circuit Judge.

Luis Daniel Ayala-Pizarro was convicted, after a four-day jury trial, of possession with intent to distribute 158 decks of heroin and of knowingly possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)®. He was acquitted of two additional gun charges involving possession of semiautomatic assault weapons. He was sentenced to twenty-four months’ imprisonment on the first charge and sixty months on the second, to be served consecutively for a total of eighty-four months’ imprisonment. He attacks both his conviction and his sentence.

We affirm Ayala’s conviction. We also affirm his sentence, save for a limited remand, agreed to by the government, for the purposes of conforming the drug testing and drug treatment program portions of Ayala’s supervised release conditions to the dictates of United States v. Melendez-Santana, 353 F.3d 93 (1st Cir.2003).

Challenge to Conviction

Ayala argues that the district court erred in permitting an arresting officer to cross the line from being a fact witness to being an expert witness when the officer testified about drug distribution points and how they operate as well as how heroin is normally packaged for distribution at these points. Ayala objected at trial that[*27] the officer’s testimony was expert testimony under Fed.R.Evid. 702, and that no prior notice of such expert testimony had been given, as required by Fed.R.Crim.P. 16(a)(1)(G). We describe the pertinent facts.

Officer Mulero, one of the arresting officers, testified that he arrested Ayala at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon on Melilla Street in Loiza, Puerto Rico, near a house known to be a drug point. Officer Mulero and the other arresting officer, Officer Pietri, were in the area looking for two suspects in the wounding of another man. The officers observed Ayala and another man, Luis Vazquez Alvarez, at the right-hand corner of the house. Ayala and Vazquez did not see the officers, but the officers saw both men and that they were armed with firearms. Indeed, Ayala was trying to cock his gun, a Cobrai Model Mil, nine millimeter caliber semiautomatic assault weapon, at the time. The officers then detained and arrested the two men. A search of Ayala turned up 153 aluminum-foil covered decks of heroin from his left pocket; his companion had $250. The officers arrested three other men standing nearby; each had a revolver. Experts determined that the heroin weighed 10.94 grams. An expert also testified that Ayala’s gun was functioning and capable of firing in semiautomatic mode, and that its serial number was obliterated.

At trial, when the government asked Officer Mulero about his experience with drug points, as a lead-in to Mulero’s testimony that Ayala was arrested at a known drug point, defense counsel objected, arguing that this was expert testimony and that because the government had not given notice of expert testimony from Mulero under Fed.R.Crim.P. 16(a)(1)(G), the witness could not so testify. At a subsequent bench conference, the government made a proffer that the witness would also testify that the particular packaging of the drugs seized showed they were packaged for distribution. Defense counsel countered that the testimony about the nature of the packaging was even more clearly expert testimony. The court ruled that the testimony that Melilla Street was a known drug point was permissible lay testimony. As to the packaging issue, the court ruled it needed to hear foundational evidence and allowed the testimony subject to a motion to strike.

Officer Mulero then testified as to how drug points work generally, stating:

Basically one individual loads the drug while the other one collects the money, and thten you have [men] who are armed and just waiting around in the event other gangs might come by and take action, and then you have others as vigilantes to see if the cops come.

Mulero testified about, his experience with Melilla Street as a drug point. He also testified that he had made previous seizures of heroin at drug points, and that the heroin was typically packed in aluminum decks. Officer Mulero was then asked about the packaging of the drugs he seized from the defendant, and replied that the heroin was packaged “[i]n a shape or manner of a deck.” Ayala did not later move to strike.

On appeal, Ayala argues that he is entitled to a new trial because two parts of Mulero’s testimony, first, about how drug points operate and, second, about how heroin is packaged, could only be given by an expert and the government failed to give notice that Officer Mulero would testify as an expert.

As to the testimony concerning how drug points operate, because Ayala timely objected, review is for abuse of discretion. United States v. Balsam, 203 F.3d 72, 84 (1st Cir.2000). As to the testi[*28] mony concerning packaging, because the objection was denied conditionally, subject to a later motion to strike, and Ayala made no later motion to strike, review is for plain error. See Wilson v. Williams, 182 F.3d 562, 566-67 (7th Cir.1999).

The government contends that neither of the two types of testimony (on the nature of drug points and on heroin packaging for distribution) was expert testimony under Fed.R.Evid. 702. We agree with the government that neither type of testimony was expert testimony at all, but was admissible as lay witness testimony under Fed.R.Evid. 701, even after the amendments to the two rules in December 2000. The pre-amendment version of Rule 701 required lay opinion testimony to be “rationally based on the perception of the witness” and “helpful to a clear understanding of the witness’ testimony or the determination of a fact in issue.” In 2000, Rule 701 was amended to include the additional requirement that testimony admitted under the rule “not [be] based on scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge within the scope of Rule 702.” As the advisory committee’s notes explain, this amendment was intended “to eliminate the risk that the reliability requirements set forth in Rule 702 will be evaded through the simple expedient of proffering an expert in lay witness clothing.” Fed. R.Evid. 701, advisory committee’s note on 2000 amendment. Instead, such expert testimony is subject to the pre-trial disclosure requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 26 and Fed.R.Crim.P. 16 and the additional reliability requirements imposed by Fed. R.Evid. 702. Id.; see also Fed.R.Evid. 702, advisory committee’s note on 2000 amendment (explaining intent to “provid[e] some general standards that the trial court must use to assess the reliability and helpfulness of proffered expert testimony” in the wake of Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 119 S.Ct. 1167, 143 L.Ed.2d 238 (1999), and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharms., Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993)).

We have noted that “[t]he line between expert testimony under Fed.R.Evid. 702 ... and lay opinion testimony under Fed. R.Evid. 701 ... is not easy to draw.” United States v. Colon Osorio, 360 F.3d 48, 52-53 (1st Cir.2004). Indeed, the same witness — for example, a law enforcement officer — may be qualified to “provide both lay and expert testimony in a single case.” See Fed.R.Evid. 701, advisory committee’s note (citing United States v. Figueroa-Lopez, 125 F.3d 1241, 1246 (9th Cir.1997)). In this case, however, the testimony did not cross the line to become expert testimony.

As to the testimony about how drug points operate, Officer Mulero stated that he had investigated, patrolled, or made arrests at drug points on more than 100 occasions. His testimony stated what occurred at those drug points. This testimony was based on the requisite personal knowledge under Fed.R.Evid. 602 and also met the requirements of Fed.R.Evid. 701, because it was based on “particularized knowledge that the witness [had] by virtue of his ... position” as a police officer assigned to patrol the neighborhood. [1] Fed.R.Evid. 701, advisory committee’s note.

Before the 2000 amendments, we had repeatedly noted that “the modern trend favors the admission of [lay] opinion testimony provided it is well founded on personal knowledge and susceptible to cross-examination.” See United States v. Vega-Figueroa, 234 F.3d 744, 755 (1st Cir.2000)[*29] (quoting United States v. Paiva, 892 F.2d 148, 157 (1st Cir.1989)). While the 2000 amendments subject testimony falling within the scope of Rule 702 to heightened reliability requirements and rules governing pre-trial disclosure, Officer Mulero’s testimony does not trigger these additional safeguards. It required no special expertise for Officer Mulero to conclude, based on his observations, that places which sell drugs are often protected by people with weapons. The defense could hardly be surprised by Mulero’s testimony that Ayala was arrested at a drug point, nor was Ayala disabled from testing the reliability of Mulero’s perceptions through cross-examination.

As to the packaging, the officer simply testified to his experience on prior drug arrests that the heroin seized at drug points was “basically packed in ... aluminum decks,” and that in this case the drugs were packaged “[i]n a shape or manner of a deck.” The agent’s testimony as to what he saw is not expert testimony. See United States v. Santana, 342 F.3d 60, 68 (1st Cir.2003). The jury was left to draw its own conclusions as to the contents and purpose of the decks, undoubtedly assisted by the fact that the 153 decks seized in this case, when tested, in fact contained heroin.

Challenge to Sentence

The government has conceded that under the rule of United States v. Melendez-Santana, 353 F.3d 93 (1st Cir.2003), the case should be remanded for adjustment of the portion of Ayala’s sentence imposing conditions of supervised release, in order to cure an impermissible delegation of authority to the probation officer over drug testing and drug treatment. We have no reason not to accept this concession.

Ayala tries to ride the concession further, arguing that the term of imprisonment in the sentence is also now open. That is contrary to Melendez-Santana itself and a long line of cases remanding for limited adjustment of sentences. See Melendez-Santana, 353 F.3d at 108 (remanding for limited adjustment solely of supervised released conditions). A remand to correct a delegation error as to conditions of supervised release does not open up any other aspect of a sentence for resentenc-ing.

Ayala’s brief also raised a different sort of sentencing argument. Ayala on appeal for the first time raised an argument that under Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), the issue of exact drug quantity should have been found by the jury. This argument has since been transformed into a Booker argument, due to the Supreme Court’s recent decision on the Sentencing Guidelines in United States v. Booker, — U.S. -, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005). This issue was not preserved at the trial court. On its own terms the unpreserved Apprendi argument would have failed pre-Booker — there would have been no plain error. At sentencing defendant did not, and indeed had no basis to, contest the government’s evidence that the heroin weighed 10.94 grams. See United States v. Cotton, 535 U.S. 625, 633-34, 122 S.Ct. 1781, 152 L.Ed.2d 860 (2002) (no plain error under Apprendi when evidence of drug quantity was overwhelming and uncontested at trial).

After the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Booker, the question for plain error review is whether defendant has shown a reasonable probability the sentencing judge would, in a non-mandatory Guidelines system, have imposed a more lenient sentence. See United States v. Antonakopoulos, 399 F.3d 68, 78-79 (1st Cir.2005). Ayala cannot meet that standard. The sixty-month portion of the sentence for the[*30] firearm possession was mandated by statute, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)®, (D)(ii), and the twenty-four months for drug distribution was centered in the middle of the twenty-one to twenty-seven month range. We see no reasonable likelihood of a more lenient sentence should the case be remanded. Antonakopoulos, 399 F.3d at 79.

The conviction is affirmed; the sentence is affirmed save for that limited portion of the conditions of supervised release relating to drug testing and treatment, which is remanded for correction in accordance with this opinion.

So ordered.

1

. Defendant relies on the opinion of the Second Circuit in United States v. Cruz, 363 F.3d 187 (2d Cir.2004), which is inapposite on its facts.