Opinion ID: 64708
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Salazar-Ramirez's phone call with David Hernandez

Text: At trial, the district court admitted recordings of two phone calls between Puente-Hernandez and an individual who the government alleges, over his denials, was Salazar-Ramirez. The calls took place on January 19, 2006, and they feature Puente-Hernandez and another individual arranging a rendezvous for the day of the bust. Puente-Hernandez, who had immediately turned government informant upon his apprehension, made the phone call at the government's behest, in the presence of agents. After this phone call, Salazar-Ramirez showed up at the house, where he was arrested, with over $24,000 found on his person. The court allowed a police officer Rangel to authenticate the call and to identify Salazar-Ramirez as Puente-Hernandez's interlocutor, on the theory that Rangel was present when the call was made, had had a conversation with Puente-Hernandez that very day, and was therefore capable of identifying Puente-Hernandez's voice. Salazar-Ramirez claims that these recordings should not have been admitted, or that the identification of the interlocutor as Salazar-Ramirez should not have been allowed. We review the district court's decision under a heightened abuse of discretion standard, and if there was such an abuse, the conviction will not be reversed if it was harmless. Authentication. First, Salazar-Ramirez's argument as to admission of the recordings (and transcript) appears to be meritless. The tapes were authenticated by an officer who was there for the call, although it is true that the foundation testimony did not offer many details about the conversation. It is not clear whether Salazar-Ramirez even objected to this baseline admissibility at trial; although defense counsel used the word authentication, he argued identification. Even if he properly objected to the actual authentication of the tape, there has been no meaningful challenge to their authenticity below or before this court. Identification. The district court looked into the issue of identification at trial, as it was challenged by Salazar-Ramirez, and it allowed Rangel's testimony. The court did not err. Rangel was capable of testifying to Salazar-Ramirez's identity, and the jury was rightly deemed responsible for weighing the reliability of his testimony. Furthermore, even if part of Rangel's testimony was error, other testimonial evidence from Rangel could have been admitted, albeit with different means of identifying Puente-Hernandez's interlocutor. As record transcripts make clear, and as the government points out on appeal, there was powerful circumstantial evidence, certainly admissible, that the recordings were of a conversation with Salazar-Ramirez: namely, shortly after the Puente-Hernandez spoke with the individual on the phone call requesting him to bring payment, Salazar-Ramirez showed up with over $24,000 in cash. [17] If there was error, it was harmless. Other evidence strongly suggested Salazar-Ramirez's thorough involvement with the conspiracy, including witness testimony and his own activities on the day of the bust.