Opinion ID: 393273
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Audio Tapes of the Maynard Conversations

Text: 78 The government introduced a series of audio tapes of conversations between Maynard and certain individuals who posed as persons seeking help on traffic tickets each had received. All three defendants now raise a variety of challenges to the district court's admission of these tapes, and also challenge the court's allowance of transcripts of the taped conversations. 79 In the first place, Sutherland argues that the government did not lay a proper foundation for its introduction of the tapes, as required by our decision in United States v. Biggins, 551 F.2d 64, 66-67 (5th Cir.1977). Our examination of the record convinces us that this is not so. The government introduced the testimony of Terry Youngblood, an F.B.I. agent, and of Edward Ortega, an El Paso policeman, who together supervised the audio tapings at issue; both Youngblood and Ortega testified at some length as to the Biggins requisites. Transcript at 632-41; 830-41. Sutherland states in particular that Maynard was not identified as a speaker on the tapes. This also is not so. Transcript at 840-41. 80 In the second place, all of the defendants complain that the tapes were only partially audible. The record in this case does indicate that the tapes were of poor quality and often unintelligible, but that fact alone does not render them inadmissible. Recordings must be excluded only if the inaudible or unintelligible portions are so substantial as to render the recording as a whole untrustworthy, and that determination is left to the sound discretion of the trial judge. United States v. Mendoza, 574 F.2d 1373, 1378 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 988, 99 S.Ct. 584, 58 L.Ed.2d 661 (1978), quoting United States v. Avila, 443 F.2d 792, 795-96 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 944, 92 S.Ct. 295, 30 L.Ed.2d 258 (1971). We perceive no abuse of discretion in this case. 81 In the third place, the defendants challenge the court's submission to the jury of the government's written transcript of the tapes. 15 The defendants argue, in brief, that the government failed to authenticate the transcript in accordance with United States v. Rochan, 563 F.2d 1246, 1250-52 (5th Cir.1977) and United States v. Onori, 535 F.2d 938, 946-49 (5th Cir.1976). We agree that the government failed adequately to authenticate the transcripts. First, the government introduced no testimony that the transcripts were accurate reproductions of the taped conversations. Second, the government introduced no testimony as to the accuracy of the government's translation of certain Spanish portions of the conversations. Testimony on both of these counts is necessary for proper authentication, for the proponent who seeks to introduce written transcripts of audio tapes must introduce some evidence that the transcripts are accurate that the words are accurately reproduced and the voices accurately identified. United States v. Rochan, 563 F.2d at 1251. Moreover, it follows from this general rule that when the transcript contains a translation into English of conversations spoken in a foreign language, the proponent must introduce the testimony of a qualified witness to authenticate and verify the translation. See United States v. Llinas, 603 F.2d 506, 509 n.3, 510 (5th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1079, 100 S.Ct. 1030, 62 L.Ed.2d 762 (1980). 82 In this case, however, we cannot find that the district court committed a reversible error in admitting the transcripts, for the context in which they were used makes it clear that no substantial right of the defendants was affected by the government's failure adequately to authenticate the transcripts. Our conclusion rests on the government's introduction of the testimony of two of the three persons who participated in the taped conversations with Maynard. These witnesses did not specifically testify as to the accuracy of the transcribed translations, but they did testify in detail as to the content of the subject conversations. In each case the witness' testimony spells out a conversation or series of conversations in which she makes a deal with Maynard pursuant to which she pays him to take care of or to fix several traffic tickets essentially the same conversation as transcribed off the tapes by the government. Thus, although the government did not verify the accuracy of the transcripts, it did introduce independent evidence of the content of two out of the three subject conversations. In this context it is clear that the defendants were not prejudiced by the government's failure to verify the accuracy of their transcriptions. 16 83 In the fourth place, Sutherland challenges the district court's admission of one of the taped conversations on the basis that the necessary consent for the recording was not properly established. The consenting participant on that tape was Beatrice Rede, who was hospitalized at the time of trial. The government introduced the testimony of F.B.I. agent Youngblood as to Rede's consent, and Sutherland objected that the consent testimony was hearsay. Because of Rede's obvious unavailability as a witness, however, such hearsay was certainly admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 804(a)(4) and (b)(5).VI. THE CHARGE 84 The first and largest group of the defendants' challenges to the district court's instructions to the jury concerns the court's handling of the multiple conspiracy problem. In particular, Sutherland and Walker each argue that the district court erroneously refused to give any one of a number of instructions that would have required the jury to acquit all three defendants if they found that the evidence established multiple conspiracies despite the indictment's charge of a single conspiracy. We disagree. While some instruction regarding multiple conspiracies may have been appropriate, see note 5 supra, the defendants clearly were not entitled to the instructions requested, each of which required a verdict of acquittal merely because of the government's proof of multiple conspiracies in variance with the indictment. See, e. g., United States v. Ashley, 555 F.2d 462, 467-68 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 869, 98 S.Ct. 210, 54 L.Ed.2d 147 (1977). 85 In the second place, Sutherland and Maynard each argue that the court erroneously omitted an oral charge stating each overt act alleged in the indictment. Rather than listing each of the many specific instances charged in the indictment, the court instructed the jury to read that portion of the indictment for themselves. Since the court explained in its charge that the indictment was not evidence, this instruction was proper. The mere fact that the judge told the jury to read the indictment themselves, rather than reading it to them, could not have prejudiced (the) appellant(s). United States v. Jones, 587 F.2d 802, 806 (5th Cir. 1979). Maynard argues further that the court should have removed from the jury's consideration those overt acts which the government had not proved; as we found in Part II of this opinion, however, the evidence was sufficient to support a verdict on any or all of the alleged overt acts. 86 Third, each of the defendants argues that the court erroneously refused a requested instruction that required the jury to be unanimous as to the same overt acts that formed the basis of their verdict. The defendants rely for this contention on United States v. Gipson, 553 F.2d 453 (5th Cir. 1977), in which we reversed the conviction of a defendant under 28 U.S.C. § 2313 (1976) (selling or receiving a stolen vehicle moving in interstate commerce) because the jury was instructed it need not agree as to which of several acts prohibited by the statute and charged in the indictment (receiving, concealing, storing, bartering, selling and disposing) was established at trial. 87 While we rejected the charge given in Gipson, however, we stated that the jury need not unanimously agree as to which act the government established within either of two distinct conceptual groupings; the first consisting of receiving, concealing, and storing, and the second comprised of bartering, selling, and disposing. 553 F.2d at 458. We explained: 88 Within each grouping, the acts are sufficiently analogous to permit a jury finding of the actus reus element of the offense to be deemed unanimous despite differences among the jurors as to which of the intra-group acts the defendant committed. 89 Id. See also United States v. Freeman, 619 F.2d 1112, 1118-19 (5th Cir. 1980), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 101 S.Ct. 1348, 67 L.Ed.2d 334 (1981) (jury need not be unamimous as to whether conspiracy was single or multiple). We are convinced that in this case the jury need not specifically have considered and agreed as to which of a large number of potential overt acts of bribery were established by the government. These acts were not distinguished in any significant respect and the evidence as to each is remarkably similar. Therefore this series of alleged acts comprises one conceptual group and the jury need not have unanimously agreed as to which was proven. 90 Fourth, Sutherland and Maynard argue that certain essential elements of the crime (that at least one defendant was associated with the Municipal Court; that the court is a RICO enterprise; and that the court affected interstate commerce) were not adequately specified in the charge. These elements were all included and explained in the court's instructions, Trial Transcript at 1491-94, but the defendants point to another portion of the charge, Trial Transcript at 1495, where the court listed elements of the crime without including these requirements. This argument is frivolous. The court's instructions should be read in their entirety. When so read, the court's charge of the elements of the offense is not rendered inadequate solely because the elements were not included together in a single list. E. g., United States v. Cook, 586 F.2d 572, 579 (5th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 442 U.S. 909, 99 S.Ct. 2821, 61 L.Ed.2d 274 (1979). 91 Fifth, Walker and Maynard each challenge the court's instruction requiring only that at least one of the conspirators have committed at least two of the overt acts described in the indictment. The defendants contend that the court should have instructed the jury that each defendant must have committed at least two predicate crimes in furtherance of the conspiracy. This argument confuses conspiracy to commit a RICO offense with the substantive RICO offense itself. The substantive crime does require each defendant to have committed at least two predicate acts of racketeering activity, but a conspiracy charge is based instead on an agreement to do so; to prove such an agreement, the government need only demonstrate some overt act, by any defendant, in furtherance of the agreement. See note 4 supra. Maynard also argues that this instruction was erroneous because it did not state, in accordance with Elliott, that each defendant by his words or actions, must have objectively manifested an agreement to participate, directly or indirectly, in the affairs of an enterprise through the commission of two or more predicate crimes. Elliott, 571 F.2d at 903 (emphasis deleted). We disagree, for the record shows that this precise instruction was in fact given by the court. Trial Transcript at 1496.