Opinion ID: 770161
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Defendant Raul Cruz-Velasco

Text: 43 Defendant Raul Cruz-Velasco alleges that the district court erred in allowing the government to present a revised written transcript of a tape-recorded conversation between defendant Cruz-Velasco and government informant Jose Villanueva. The original transcript of this conversation was turned over to the defense well in advance of trial as part of discovery, but on the eve of trial the government provided the defense with a revised version of that transcript. Although the government contends that the revised transcript only contained translations of portions previously thought inaudible, defendant Cruz-Velasco argues that the modifications made to the transcript were significantly prejudicial to his defense and justify overturning his conviction. According to defendant Cruz-Velasco, the government's delay in providing up-to-date transcripts should have resulted in a prohibition on the use at trial of the newly-provided transcripts. 44 Although this issue again raises general problems regarding the ability of defendant Cruz- Velasco to react to evidence turned over late in the discovery process, our concerns in that regard are alleviated upon an examination of the circumstances surrounding the revised transcript. The delay in turning over the modified translations was not due to the fault of the government, but rather to the inability of the government to review the accuracy of the original transcript with the relevant witnesses until shortly before trial. Apart from the transcript itself, the defense was provided a copy of the actual tape-recorded conversation and had ample opportunity to seek its own translation. Furthermore, upon hearing that the government provided new transcripts near the start of trial, the district court gave defendant Cruz-Velasco the opportunity to cross-examine the government's expert witness on the modifications to the transcript and informed defendant Cruz-Velasco that he would be permitted to call his own expert challenging the government's version of the translated conversation. When a defendant is given both the time and the opportunity to address any problems created by a new transcript and to present an alternate version, the district court's refusal to exclude the new translation is not an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Zambrana, 864 F.2d 494, 497-98 (7th Cir. 1988) ('Because the [defendant] had ample opportunity to either challenge specific portions of the government's transcript or to prepare an alternate version,' he cannot now complain on appeal when he failed to pursue those avenues at trial.) (quoting United States v. Zambrana, 841 F.2d 1320, 1335 (7th Cir. 1988)); United States v. Llinas, 603 F.2d 506 (5th Cir. 1979).