Opinion ID: 1665551
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Transcript of Statement

Text: Bell next alleges that the circuit court erred in admitting a transcript of his statement to the police. Over objection by defense counsel, copies of the transcript were passed out to the jury to be used as a guide while the tape of the statement played. Bell's argument is twofold. He claims that the tape was the best evidence of the statement and that the admission of the transcript violated the best-evidence rule. He further claims that the circuit court erred in not making a finding as to the accuracy of the transcript. We find no merit in Bell's best-evidence argument. The best-evidence rule provides that, when proving the contents of a recording, the original recording is generally required. See Ark. R. Evid. 1002 (2007). Here, the tape recording was admitted into evidence. Therefore, the best-evidence rule was satisfied. The rule, which requires the submission of the most reliable evidence, was not violated by the admission of additional evidence. Our court has upheld a circuit court's decision to allow both the transcript and the recording of a defendant's statement. See Baysinger v. State, 261 Ark. 605, 550 S.W.2d 445 (1977). The Baysinger case presents facts very similar to those in this case. In Baysinger , police officers created a transcript of a recorded statement, leaving blanks or notations at points where the conversation was unintelligible. Id. Over the defendant's objection, the transcript was passed out for jurors to look at while the recording was being played. Id. Witnesses testified that the transcript was accurate, and the defendant could point to no prejudicial misrepresentations. Id. This court held the transcript was admissible, stating admission was the better policy where as here the transcription is shown to be accurate and it would be necessary to replay the recording for the jurors several times unless the transcription is used. Id. at 613, 550 S.W.2d at 450. We have continued to follow the policy of allowing accurate transcripts to be used alongside recordings that may be difficult to understand. See, e.g., Leavy v. State, 314 Ark. 231, 862 S.W.2d 832 (1993). The transcript at issue here contains notations referring to inaudible or unintelligible dialogue. It was used for the same reason set forth in Baysinger . Sergeant Mauk testified that he had compared the transcript with the tape and concluded that the transcript was accurate. Furthermore, there are no material misrepresentations that would prejudice Bell. [3] If the audio tape had been played without the transcript, it would have been necessary to replay the recording several times in order to ensure the jurors' understanding of the statement. With regard to Bell's contention that the circuit court should have made a finding as to the accuracy of the transcript, that is simply not a requirement under our case law. The case he cites for that assertion actually states that, when a witness testifies to the accuracy of the transcript and where it may be necessary to use the transcript in addition to the recording in order to ensure the jurors' understanding of the content, the decision to use the transcript is discretionary with the trial court. Leavy v. State, supra . We have held that there is no abuse of that discretion when the appellant cannot demonstrate prejudice. Id. Similarly, Bell has failed to demonstrate prejudice in the instant case. Thus, the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the use of the transcript in addition to the recording.