Opinion ID: 854097
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Authentication of 911 Call

Text: Young claims that the trial court erred in admitting the recorded 911 call between an emergency dispatcher and Allison Garner. He says the call was not properly authenticated under Indiana Rule of Evidence 901. We disagree. Generally, the identities of both parties must be authenticated before admitting a telephone call. King v. State, 560 N.E.2d 491, 494 (Ind.1990). A caller's identity can be established by circumstantial evidence, and need not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Lock v. State, 567 N.E.2d 1155, 1158 (Ind.1991) (citing Reed v. State, 491 N.E.2d 182, 186 (Ind.1986)), cert. denied, 503 U.S. 991, 112 S.Ct. 1686, 118 L.Ed.2d 400 (1991); Ashley v. State, 493 N.E.2d 768, 774 (Ind.1986). A telephone call to a 911 system may not always require such authentication where the point of submitting it as evidence is not really to establish the identification of the caller. Here, the point was largely to demonstrate where the call originated and how the police discovered the crime scene. The foundation here was adequate for that purpose. In this case, the identity of Allison Garner as the caller can be established by several circumstances surrounding the call. The dispatcher testified that he received a non-responsive call on October 23, 1995. His caller identification equipment listed Allison Garner's name, phone number, and address. He then dialed that number and a woman answered the phone. The voice frantically screamed something about her children and the name Tracey. He also heard a man's voice and breaking glass. When police arrived moments later, they found three victims and broken glass on the front door. One of these victims was indeed Allison Garner. Considering this evidence, the state sufficiently authenticated the fact that Allison Garner was the woman who answered the phone.