Opinion ID: 499510
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Counts 6 to 10--Admissibility of Tape Recordings

Text: 8 Defendant objects to all his convictions on the ground that the trial court erred in admitting the tape recordings secured by Ms. Patillar. Defendant raises four arguments with respect to the recordings: (1) the tapes should not have been admitted because they contained substantial inaudible portions which rendered the recording as a whole untrustworthy; (2) foundation requirements for admitting the tapes had not been satisfied; (3) defendant was denied his right to a public trial under the sixth amendment because the public's ability to hear the tapes was much worse than the jury's; and (4) the jury should not have been allowed to use the transcripts from the recordings during the playing of the tapes because the transcripts were inaccurate. 9 The admissibility of tape recordings that are partially inaudible as evidence is within the discretion of the trial judge. United States v. Devous, 764 F.2d 1349, 1353 (10th Cir.1985). See also United States v. Watson, 594 F.2d 1330, 1335 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 840, 100 S.Ct. 78, 62 L.Ed.2d 51 (1979). Recordings are usually admissible unless the inaudible portions are so substantial as to render untrustworthy the recording as a whole. Admission is especially appropriate 'where a witness who heard the statements also testifies and the recording gives independent support to his testimony.'  United States v. Davis, 780 F.2d 838, 846 (10th Cir.1985) (citations omitted). In upholding the admissibility of the tapes, the Davis court noted that the trial court listened to the tapes in camera before ruling on their admissibility, that a party to the conversation testified as to its accuracy, that the unintelligible portions did not seem to have been altered, and that an agent testified as to the chain of custody. Id. 10 In this case the trial court conducted a hearing on the admissibility of the tapes and discussed its concerns regarding their audibility. Record, vol. 4, at 1-59. The court listened to the tapes prior to trial and found them to be sufficiently audible. Record, vol. 6, at 433-36. The trial court also gave counsel two extra days to work with the sound enhancing equipment to be used at trial. Record, vol. 4, at 1-59. Ms. Patillar's testimony that the recorded conversations were as she remembered, record, vol. 6, at 358, and the FBI's testimony establishing the chain of custody, record, vol. 5, at 173-74, also support admissibility of the tapes. In light of the evidence, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the tapes because they contained some inaudible portions. 11 Second, defendant claims the tapes should not have been admitted because the Government failed to satisfy two parts of the seven-part test for laying the foundation of sound recordings announced in McMillan v. United States, 508 F.2d 101 (8th Cir.1974), cert. denied, 421 U.S. 916, 95 S.Ct. 1577, 43 L.Ed.2d 782 (1975). Both parties erroneously conclude that the seven elements enumerated in McMillan are binding precedent in this court. The McMillan criteria were originally set out in United States v. McKeever, 169 F.Supp. 426 (S.D.N.Y.1958), a case which, in 1979, this court cited with approval. United States v. Carter, 613 F.2d 256, 261-62 (10th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 822, 101 S.Ct. 81, 66 L.Ed.2d 24 (1980). However, since Carter, we have specifically rejected the adoption of 'inflexible [foundation] criteria applicable to all cases.'  United States v. Jones, 730 F.2d 593, 597 (10th Cir.1984) (citations omitted; brackets in original text) (quoting United States v. Smith, 692 F.2d 693, 698 (10th Cir.1982)). We recognize that the factors set out in McKeever ... may assist a trial judge in ruling upon foundation questions, but we will not upset the judge's admission of a recording unless the foundation was clearly insufficient to insure the accuracy of the recording. Jones, 730 F.2d at 597. 12 Defendant's arguments that there is no testimony as to the accuracy of the tape and that Ms. Patillar was induced to secure the recorded conversations are not supported in the record. Thus, on its face, the record does not indicate that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting the tapes without first establishing adequate foundation. 13 Third, defendant claims that he was denied his sixth amendment right to a public trial. The Government notes that defendant did not make this objection at trial. Defendant was both able to raise the objection and had ample opportunity to do so when the court addressed the issue of the difference in the ability of the public and the jury to hear the tapes in a hearing. At the hearing defendant opposed releasing the tapes and transcripts to representatives of the media, but did not object to the public's inability to hear the tapes. Record, vol. 6, at 462-69. Defendant is therefore precluded from raising this claim on appeal. United States v. Mitchell, 783 F.2d 971, 976 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 107 S.Ct. 208, 93 L.Ed.2d 138 (1986). 14 Finally, defendant claims that transcripts of the recordings should not have been provided to the jury because Ms. Patillar testified the transcripts were inaccurate. Defendant argues that the tapes only confused the jury and resulted in prejudice. As it was for the tapes, the standard of review for the use of transcripts is abuse of discretion. Devous, 764 F.2d at 1354. The court in Devous commented that, when the parties had not stipulated to use the transcript, the best procedure for testing its accuracy is for the trial court to make a pretrial determination of accuracy by reading the transcript against the tape.... Id. at 1355 (quoting United States v. Slade, 627 F.2d 293, 302 (D.C.Cir.1980)). 15 The trial court examined the transcripts in a pretrial hearing on the admissibility of the tapes. At that time, some areas of dispute in the transcripts were corrected, record, vol. 4, at 41-42, and the court found the transcripts to be accurate and carefully done. Record, vol. 6, at 436. Before allowing the jury to see the transcripts, the court instructed them to disregard the transcripts if particular words were indeterminable from the tapes. Record, vol. 6, at 355-56. The court also permitted the jury to read only the pages of the transcript that related to the tapes being played. Defendant's citation to the record does not make clear that Ms. Patillar found anything more than minor errors in the transcripts. In view of these precautions, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the use of the transcripts. 16