Opinion ID: 2061073
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Admission of Tape Recording and Transcript

Text: The defendant contends the trial court erred in admitting State's exhibits 20 and 21, a tape recording of the defendant's voluntary statement given to police the day after the victim was taken to the hospital and the typed transcription of that statement. She argues on appeal, consistent with her objections at trial, that the tape recording contains matters otherwise inadmissible as hearsay or irrelevant evidence. Having been furnished in advance with a transcription of the recording, the defendant at trial identified only one example of alleged inadmissible matter. This court will not address the admissibility of portions for which there was no objection presented at trial. At trial, the defendant explicitly objected only to the following questions by the police officers: Q. Okay. There's a lot of things, Lola, I want to caution you on one thing. Physical evidence proof, stuff that Lt. Loy saw and found in your house on that night. A. Yes and I told him everything about that. Q. Doesn't match stuff that you tell us... . These statements by the police officer were not inadmissible hearsay because they were not offered as proof of the facts asserted therein. The limited function of the police questions was explained to the jury at the time the recording was played with the following admonishment from the trial judge at the request of defense counsel: On the tape there are some statements made by Mr. Loy and by Detective Rhodes, the other police officer, and I want to instruct you that what the police officers say in the course of the interview, the police officers [sic] information, whatever they say is not evidence and is not to be considered by you as evidence. But is to be considered only as questioning and questions in order to elicit information to draw out information from Mrs. Strong. There are certain things that the police officers say and representations that they make that may or may not be true. They are not to be considered as evidence other than to bring out information from Mrs. Strong. Okay. We find no error on this issue.