This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Scop (D) was one of several individuals indicted for mail and securities fraud in connection with the trading of stock in a car dealership. D was involved in a scheme to inflate the price of the stock, whereby the parties fixed the trading by providing buyer, seller, and price in every transaction. The government's case against D rested in part on the testimony of Whitten, an SEC investigator. Whitten testified solely on the basis of evidence introduced at trial. Over D's objection, he was permitted to answer a question concerning his opinion as to whether there was a scheme to defraud investor. In doing so, Whitten repeatedly used terms contained in the statute under which D was being prosecuted such as 'active participants' and 'material participants' in the manipulation of EAC stock. D was convicted and appealed claiming that the admission of the expert testimony was improper because it involved legal conclusions which are not within the scope of Rule 704.

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