Opinion ID: 2222285
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: admission of evidence of two entire prior taped statements of pedro palacios

Text: On this issue I believe the majority opinion misses the point. Under section 115-10.1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, par. 115-10.1), evidence of a prior inconsistent tape-recorded statement may be admitted as substantive evidence under certain conditions. The defendant concedes that certain parts of the prior tape-recorded statements of Pedro Palacios were inconsistent with his trial testimony ( e.g., whether the defendant had told him that he threw the gym bag away after his encounter with the officer (prior statement) or before (trial testimony)) but argues that only those inconsistent portions, and not the entire tapes, should be played to the jury. At the trial below, the State argued, and the trial court agreed, that all of the tapes could be played because, in their entirety, they tended to rebut Palacios' explanation that the inconsistencies were due to nervousness, confusion, and suggestive questioning by the interrogating officer. The trial court placed particular emphasis on the value to the jury of hearing Palacios' tone of voice. The majority opinion does not accurately state the issue, saying that the defendant specifically argues that Pedro's statements did not contain enough inconsistencies to be admitted into evidence as substantive evidence. (126 Ill.2d at 456.) The opinion goes on to reject the view that the statute requires some minimal number of inconsistencies in a taped statement before it can be admitted. But this is not what the defendant is arguing; it is his argument that only the inconsistent statements should be played and the consistent portions redacted. The State argues, by analogy with the rule that a witness may be given the opportunity to show the circumstances under which an inconsistent statement was made, that it should be able to use the tape to rebut the witness' explanation of the circumstances surrounding the inconsistencies. This is a novel question, and one which, so far as I can discover, is one of first impression. The State appears to be arguing for the admission of the inconsistent portions as substantive evidence per the statute, and the consistent portions as reflecting on the witness' credibility. One problem with this argument is that the jury was not instructed to divide the statements in this fashion; it could have considered the consistent portions also as substantive evidence. Another problem is that the statute itself does not provide for the admission of taped statements to impeach credibility, rebut an attack on credibility, or, as in this case, refute an attempt by the witness to rehabilitate his credibility. I believe that in the absence of precedent, these portions should not have been admitted. Since they may have affected the jury's consideration of Palacios' explanation of the inconsistencies, and since Palacios' testimony was in general not favorable to the defendant, this error was prejudicial.