Opinion ID: 2663168
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Wiretap transcripts

Text: We review the district court's admission of transcripts to aid in evaluating the wiretap evidence for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Frazier, 280 F.3d 835, 849 (8th Cir. 2002). Wiggins argues that the district court abused its discretion by allowing the government to use transcripts of wiretapped telephone conversations that identified Wiggins as the individual who referred to himself as Theo during the tape-recorded calls. Wiggins points to the fact that the name Wiggins was not used during the calls. However, two government witnesses, Hampton and Blewett, identified Wiggins' voice as belonging to the person who used the name Theo during the phone calls. Further, the district court issued a cautionary instruction that the tapes, not the transcripts, were evidence. While Wiggins challenges the credibility of the two witnesses who provided the foundational identifications, this was an issue for the jury. United States v. Hodge, 594 F.3d 614, 618 (8th Cir. 2010). Further, the government agents who testified at trial also identified Wiggins as the person they observed meeting with Hampton. Finally, we previously allowed the use of transcripts to assist the jury in Frazier, where we held that because there was a sufficient foundation for the identification, and where the district court issued a very similar limiting instruction, there was no abuse of discretion in admitting the transcripts. 280 F.3d at 849. We similarly find there was more than sufficient evidence to support the identification of Wiggins' voice on the recordings, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the transcripts to be used to assist the jury. -4-