Opinion ID: 751665
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sending unread transcripts into the jury room.

Text: 8 The government's investigation into the methamphetamine conspiracy produced audio tape-recordings of approximately 110 conversations, telephonic and face-to-face, between Garcia, Franco, Gonzalez, and Topete. All of those conversations were conducted solely in Spanish. The recordings themselves were placed in evidence but not played for the jury. English-language transcripts were also placed in evidence, but only 18 of them were read in full to the jury. All 110 transcripts were, however, made available to the jury during its deliberations. 9 Appellants collectively contend that the district court's decision to allow the jury to take the unread transcripts of the tape-recorded conversations into the jury room was structural error, requiring reversal under the principle we established in United States v. Noushfar, 78 F.3d 1442 (9th Cir.1996). We conclude that the rule of Noushfar does not apply in the circumstances of this case. 10 In Noushfar, the district court had admitted into evidence, but had not played for the jury, several taped conversations (recorded in English). Over objection, the court sent the tapes and a tape-player into the jury room. We held that, in so doing, the district court committed structural error, requiring automatic reversal. We pointed out that we had previously held it to be a violation of Fed.R.Crim.P. 43(a) for a jury to replay without the presence of the defendant a tape that had earlier been heard in open court. See United States v. Kupau, 781 F.2d 740, 743 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 823, 107 S.Ct. 93, 93 L.Ed.2d 45 (1986). We then opined that the error in Noushfar was far more serious: 11 The court completely abdicated control of the presentation of the evidence. It made no analysis of whether undue emphasis might be placed on some of the recorded conversations. The court gave no instruction that the jurors must listen to the tapes in their entirety in accordance with the rule of completeness and Fed.R.Evid. 106. And this error undermines one of the most fundamental tenets of our justice system: that a defendant's conviction may be based only on the evidence presented during the trial. Sending the tapes to the jury room is akin to allowing a new witness to testify privately, without cross-examination, to the jury during its deliberations. 12 Noushfar, 78 F.3d at 1445. 13 Noushfar is different from our case, however, for at least two reasons. First, and most important, the trial court in Noushfar had sent the unplayed tapes to the jury [o]ver vigorous objections. Id. at 1444. Here, there was no objection to the district court's decision to send the unread transcripts to the jury room and, for reasons we will explain, prior motions or inquiries of defense counsel did not suffice in place of such an objection. 14 Second, Noushfar involved the sending of unplayed tapes to the jury. Our case involves the sending of unread transcripts to the jury, when the tapes were not played because they were in a foreign language. This distinction alone does not necessarily render Noushfar inapplicable to the present situation, but it highlights the need for explicit objections. To explain why we conclude that Noushfar does not require reversal here, it is necessary to describe in more detail both the procedural situation in the district court and the state of our law. 15 The district court gave the defendants abundant time to review the English-language transcripts and the tapes. It informed the defendants that, to the extent that they did not succeed in securing the government's consent to suggested corrections, they should submit competing translations of disputed passages. Although the defendants did succeed in making numerous agreed corrections, they submitted no competing translations. The district court accordingly was quite correct in concluding that the defendants had not placed the accuracy of the transcripts in issue. See United States v. Cruz, 765 F.2d 1020, 1023 (11th Cir.1985) (failure to submit own translation precludes attack on accuracy of transcript on appeal); United States v. Armijo, 5 F.3d 1229, 1234-35 (9th Cir.1993) (opportunity of defense to introduce alternative versions is factor in admissibility of transcripts). 16 The district court also correctly held that the relation between tapes and transcripts changes when the tapes are in a foreign language. When tapes are in English, they normally constitute the actual evidence and transcripts are used only as aids to understanding the tapes; the jury is instructed that if the tape and transcript vary, the tape is controlling. See United States v. Turner, 528 F.2d 143, 167-68 (9th Cir.1975), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 837, 97 S.Ct. 105, 50 L.Ed.2d 103 (1976). When the tape is in a foreign language, however, such an instruction is not only nonsensical, it has the potential for harm where the jury includes bilingual jurors. United States v. Fuentes-Montijo, 68 F.3d 352, 355-56 (9th Cir.1995). We therefore have upheld a trial court's instruction that a jury is not free to disagree with a translated transcript of tape recordings. See id. To some degree, the status of translated transcripts as primary evidence helps the defendants' argument: the transcripts substitute for the tapes, and accordingly it is reasonable to presume that they will be read in open court as a tape would be played in open court, rather than being treated as ordinary documentary evidence such as a contract or insurance policy. 17 The district court in the present case did not treat the transcripts as ordinary documentary evidence. In response to the requests and a motion of the defendants to have the tapes played to the jury or to have neutral readers read the transcripts to the jury, the district court set forth a detailed pretrial ruling. The court declined to play representational tapes so that the jury could derive meaning from the tone or inflection of the speech, because, in the court's view, the tone or inflection of a foreign language would be meaningless or misleading. The court rejected neutral readers because they could inject emphasis or distortion into the process. The court stated that, instead, the procedure would be as follows: 18 First, both tapes and transcripts will be received into evidence, and the jury will be instructed they may listen to the tapes if they so request during their deliberation. The English translation transcripts will be published to the jury when the government proceeds with its direct examination of the confidential informant. 19