Opinion ID: 513461
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Trial Presentation of the Evidence

Text: 6 At trial, the government presented the evidence that was obtained from the undercover investigation in chronological order, proceeding transaction by transaction. Agent Lopez initially testified about each such transaction. Subsequently, a surveillance agent, or agents, who had observed either the transaction or the events surrounding it, also would testify. The agents so corroborating Agent Lopez' testimony varied from transaction to transaction. Occasionally, some of these other undercover agents accompanied Agent Lopez to purchase narcotics. Several of the transactions also were videotaped and/or photographed. The government introduced these videotapes and photographs into evidence. Finally, the surveillance agents recorded a good deal of telephone conversations. 2 These conversations, principally in Spanish, were recorded onto reel-to-reel tapes. Some of these tapes then were reproduced onto cassettes. The cassettes, in turn, were translated into English transcripts. 3 ] These English transcripts, along with the reel-to-reel and cassette tapes, were introduced into evidence and the transcripts were read to the jury. According to the government, the recorded conversations were in a code typically used by drug dealers to disguise the illegality of their business. II