Opinion ID: 1790359
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: admissibility of the taped phone conversation between the appellant and his father, james major

Text: In 1996, while in the Boone County Jail, the Appellant called his father, James Major, and during the conversation, admitted to murdering Marlene Major. By late February, or March 2001, Detective Kinner had become aware of the 1996 phone conversation and he and Detective Tim Camahan traveled to Mr. Major's residence in Nova Scotia for the purpose of attempting to tape an additional telephone conversation between Mr. Major and the Appellant. Mr. Major was cooperative in this and made the phone call, which was taped. However Appellant's answers were evasive. When asked if he could tell Mr. Major what happened, the Appellant replied, even if I could, I probably wouldn't. When Mr. Major told Appellant his daughter just wanted to know what happened, the Appellant suggested Mr. Major tell her to ask Marlene's boyfriend in Indiana ... I think if they had a talk with him ... they might be surprised and when his father told Appellant you told me you killed her, the Appellant responded at the time I was in jail and I was pretty well upset ... why do I get the feeling that somebody is trying to set me up? Before trial, Appellant filed a Motion to Suppress the taped conversation, alleging violations of his Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights under the United States Constitution and Sections 2, 10 and 11 of the Bill of Rights of the Kentucky Constitution. This motion was denied. Appellant has not shown that any constitutionally violative procedures were used in securing the audio tape of the phone conversation. Since official proceedings had not been instituted against the Appellant for the murder of Marlene at the time of the taping, and he was not incarcerated, it was not in violation of the Appellant's Fifth or Sixth Amendments rights. Moreover, even though the phone conversation took place from James Major's residence in Nova Scotia to the Appellant's residence, then in Massachusetts, the activity was appropriate under Kentucky Criminal Law, KRS 526.010; thus not in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. The practice of recording conversations with the consent of at least one party to the conversation has long been recognized in Kentucky jurisprudence. Carrier v. Commonwealth, 607 S.W.2d 115 (Ky.App.1980); See also, Lopez v. U.S., 373 U.S. 427, 83 S.Ct. 1381, 10 L.Ed.2d 462 (1963) [2] . Rulings on the admissibility of evidence by the trial court are not disturbed on review in the absence of an abuse in discretion. Commonwealth v. English, 993 S.W.2d 941 (Ky.1999); Jarvis v. Commonwealth, 960 S.W.2d 466 (Ky.1998); Partin v. Commonwealth, 918 S.W.2d 219 (Ky.1996). There being no illegal government activity here, the contents of this taped conversation were properly admitted into evidence.