Opinion ID: 2315178
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: inadequacy of the supplemented record on appeal in this case

Text: The fact that the trial court has approved a Rule 10(j) statement and certified it as part of the record on appeal does not end our inquiry into whether the record is amenable to review. The lack of a complete transcript is not always curable by efforts to reconstruct the record under Rule 10(j). See Herndon, supra, 638 F.2d at 965; United States v. Knox, 456 F.2d 1024, 1025 (8th Cir.1972) (per curiam); see generally 9 J. MOORE, supra, at ¶ 210.06. We therefore must examine the supplemented record to determine whether it is adequate to permit appellant a meaningful opportunity to locate and challenge errors at trial, and to permit this court to exclude the possibility of any error other than harmless error. United States v. Upshaw, 448 F.2d 1218, 1224 (5th Cir.1971), cert. denied, 405 U.S. 934, 92 S.Ct. 970, 30 L.Ed.2d 810 (1972). The government argues that the 10(j) statement in this case indicates that appellant, in her direct testimony, admitted to all of the essential elements of the crime of carrying a pistol without a license. It contends that, because appellant is unable to proffer any specific trial court error that would not be considered harmless when viewed in light of her admission, the 10(j) statement is sufficient to warrant affirming the conviction. We disagree. Although an appellant's inability to proffer specific prejudicial errorswhich allegedly occurred at trial but which are not adequately reflected in the supplemented recordis an important factor in evaluating whether the lack of a verbatim transcript is prejudicial, [11] it is not conclusive. E.g., Workcuff, supra, 137 U.S.App.D.C. at 264-65, 422 F.2d at 701-02. Several factors combine to convince us that the supplemented record now before this court is inadequate. First, unlike the typical case in which only a portion of the trial transcript is unavailable, [12] neither appellant nor this court has had access to a verbatim transcript of any of the trial proceedings. As a general matter, the problems associated with a less-than-complete verbatim transcriptespecially the inability to notice plain errorwill be greater when a substantial portion of the transcript is altogether unavailable. Although the loss of an entire trial transcript will not necessitate a new trial in every instance, it does magnify the need for a complete and accurate substitute statement of the evidence and increases the likelihood that meaningful appellate review will be impossible. E.g., Knox, supra, 456 F.2d at 1025. Second, despite our acceptance of the 10(j) statement as the most complete reconstruction possible at this time, it is at best a fragmentary account of appellant's trial. There is no mention of either party's opening statements and only a cursory summary of the closing arguments. Moreover, we are left without any insight into the cross-examination of the complaining witness or of appellanttwo of the three witnesses at trialand there is no record of the instructions given to the jury. [13] Of particular significance here, the problems of completeness and reliability normally associated with a Rule 10(j) statement [14] are compounded by the fact that appellantthrough no fault of her ownwas not able to assist in preparing the 10(j) statement. This factor is especially important because the government's harmless error analysis relies heavily on the summary of appellant's direct testimony. We are reluctant to find harmless error based on an account of appellant's testimony at trial which appellant has not had an opportunity to supplement or contest. Finally, the difficulties discussed above are greatly exacerbated by the fact that appellant's present counsel did not participate in the trial. Workcuff, supra, 137 U.S.App.D.C. at 265, 422 F.2d at 702; cf. Gaskins v. United States, 265 A.2d 589, 592-93 (D.C.1970). The increased likelihood that prejudice will result when a newly-retained appellate counsel is forced to proceed with a less-than-complete transcript of the trial court proceedings is well-recognized. [15] An appellate counsel who was not present at trial and does not have access to a transcript of the trial court proceedings will be forced to piece together the events of trial, relying solely on the recollections of others. This will leave counsel at a distinct disadvantage both in uncovering trial court errors and in developing a substitute statement of evidence sufficient to demonstrate that such errors merit reversal. We are convinced that under the circumstances of this case, the supplemental record on appeal lacks the completeness and the reliability necessary to protect appellant's right to pursue an appeal and this court's obligation to engage in meaningful review. Reversed.