Opinion ID: 486549
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure to Record Oral Statements

Text: 19 Appellant argues that the failure of DEA Agent Kiernan to include in his written report appellant's statement that appellant knew someone who sold cocaine should preclude any testimony by Kiernan to that effect. In essence, appellant invites us to announce a rule that law enforcement officers are required to make contemporaneous notes of every oral statement made by a defendant; failure to so record in writing a defendant's statement would render testimony about any unrecorded portion of that statement inadmissible. Our cases have previously recognized the government's duty to preserve written notes or other discoverable evidence, see, e.g., United States v. Sommer, 815 F.2d 15, 16 (2d Cir.1987); United States v. Grammatikos, 633 F.2d 1013, 1019-20 (2d Cir.1980); United States v. Bufalino, 576 F.2d 446, 449 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 928, 99 S.Ct. 314, 58 L.Ed.2d 321 (1978), but we have not imposed on government agents an affirmative duty of contemporaneous note-taking. For the reasons that follow, we decline to impose such a blanket duty. 20 It is no doubt good practice on the part of law enforcement officials to record in writing, either while a defendant speaks or shortly thereafter, a defendant's oral statements. Such practice certainly enhances the reliability of the fact-finding process at trial, discourages unreliable testimony, and helps prevent fraud and dishonesty among those who testify. In fact, Agent Kiernan testified that such practice is embodied in a DEA administrative rule that oral statements of defendants be written down if pertinent to the investigation. However, recording a statement in writing is not the only safeguard of its reliability. A witness who testifies as to his current recollection is always subject to cross-examination. The failure on the part of a witness testifying about an oral statement to take contemporaneous notes, particularly when the law enforcement agency requires that such statements be recorded, can be elicited on cross-examination, leaving the ultimate assessment of the witness' credibility where it belongs--in the hands of the trier of fact. In our view, to impose a per se rule that would automatically require suppression of testimony about an unrecorded oral statement would place an unreasonable burden on those who take statements. In this instance, Agent Kiernan in fact prepared a written record of appellant's oral statement but omitted a portion of that statement which, he testified, at that time he deemed irrelevant to the investigation. Under these circumstances, suppression of testimony regarding the unrecorded portion of the statement would not have been justified.