Opinion ID: 1770982
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: state's use of transcript

Text: Although our reversal renders it unnecessary to address the remaining points, in order to assist the trial court on remand, we deem it appropriate to address Martinez's claims regarding the State's use of the audio-video tape of the conversation and the use of a transcript of that conversation by the jury as an aid while the audio-video tape was being played. Before trial, the defense unsuccessfully moved to exclude the police recording alleging that it was to a large extent unintelligible and therefore incomplete. The defense also objected to a transcript of the recording prepared to assist jurors in their review and understanding of the audio-video tape. At the pretrial hearing, Sloane Martinez and Detective Conigliaro testified as to how they prepared the transcript. Over a three-day period, both Sloane Martinez and Detective Conigliaro sat in a room where they replayed the tape making notations as to what they heard on the recording. Sloane Martinez testified that, based on her memory of events and having listened to the tape, the transcript was an accurate transcription of the intercepted conversation between herself and her ex-husband. As the conversation occurred, Detective Conigliaro, Corporal Baker, and Assistant State Attorney Karen Cox listened to the police surveillance from a remote location through a listening device. Detective Conigliaro also verified the accuracy of the transcript, relying on having listened to the conversation as it was taking place as well as listening to the videotape. Detective Conigliaro also testified that the quality of what he heard as the conversation was taking place was better than the recorded version. Moreover, he testified that he and Sloane Martinez were extremely conservative in preparing the transcript and they did not include items that they did not hear. The trial court ruled that the audio-video tape could be played for the jury and that the State could provide jurors with the copies of the written transcript. The jurors were allowed to read the thirty-three-page transcript as an unadmitted court exhibit while prosecutors played the surveillance tape to the jurors. However, the trial court ruled that jurors could not take copies of the transcript back to the jury room during deliberations. We begin first with the law concerning the use of the audio-video tape. The general rule in Florida regarding admissibility of partially inaudible tape recordings is that [p]artial inaudibility or unintelligibility is not a ground for excluding a recording if the audible parts are relevant, authenticated, and otherwise properly admissible. Odom v. State, 403 So.2d 936, 940 (Fla.1981). Such recordings are admissible unless the inaudible and intelligible portions are so substantial as to deprive the audible portions of relevance. See id.; Henry v. State, 629 So.2d 1058, 1059 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993); Harris v. State, 619 So.2d 340, 342 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993). On appeal, Martinez does not assert that the trial court improperly admitted the audio-video tape but asserts error with regard to the jurors' use of the transcript. Martinez argues that the transcript should not have been used at trial because: (1) it was not properly authenticated; (2) it included portions that were inaudible on the tape; and (3) the trial court did not give a jury instruction limiting the jury's consideration of the transcript. The Fourth District has explained the general law in Florida that the jury may view an accurate transcript of an admitted tape recording as an aid in understanding the tape so long as the unadmitted transcript does not go back to the jury room or become a focal point of the trial. Macht v. State, 642 So.2d 1137, 1138 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). In Hill v. State, 549 So.2d 179, 182 (Fla.1989), we found no error where the jury utilized a transcript. In Hill, the defendant did not claim that the transcript was inaccurate, the jury did not carry the transcript into the jury room, and the transcript did not become a focal point of the proceeding. Therefore, the transcript did not displace the actual tape as the evidence upon which the jury relied. Similarly, in Grimes v. State, 244 So.2d 130, 135 (Fla.1971), the accuracy of the transcript was not an issue. In Grimes, the transcript of the defendant's tape-recorded statement had been properly authenticated by the officer who recorded it. We thus explained that the transcription was properly authenticated by the person who took the statement and who verified that the transcript was the same evidence as the recording. 244 So.2d at 135. Therefore, this Court found no error where the transcript was published to the jury, but not admitted into evidence or used by the jurors during deliberations. See id.; see also Hill, 549 So.2d at 182. In this case, Martinez claims that it was improper to allow jurors to use the transcript because it contained many statements that could not actually be heard on the tape. In explaining the potential dangers from a transcript, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia observed: A transcript repeating in written form a conversation recorded on tape may help a juror listening to the tape follow the conversation when the tape is of questionable clarity, or contains the voices of multiple speakers who talk over each other or speak in quick succession. Ironically, the same circumstances that make a transcript helpful to a juror may prejudice the defendant if it is presented without proper safeguards, for the only transcripts worth fighting about are those on which important words may be susceptible to different interpretations. After all, the jurors are likely to notice a clear discrepancy between a tape and a transcript. United States v. Holton, 116 F.3d 1536, 1540 (D.C.Cir.1997) (emphasis supplied) (citations omitted), cert denied, 522 U.S. 1067, 118 S.Ct. 736, 139 L.Ed.2d 673 (1998). One of the primary dangers of allowing the jury to use an unadmitted transcript is that it may become the evidence that the jury relies upon rather than the tape itself: The principal risk of indiscriminately permitting the use of transcripts by jurors is that in the case of a poor quality or unintelligible recording, the jurors may substitute the contents of the more accessible, printed dialogue for the sounds they cannot readily hear or distinguish on the tape and, in so doing, transform the transcript into independent evidence of the recorded statements. A related risk arises when a transcript attributes incriminating statements to a defendant that the defendant does not admit making. Placing a transcript in the jury room during deliberations after the completion of the supervised, adversarial portion of the trial opens up the possibility that jurors will see the transcript as a neutral exhibit placed before them by the court and increases the chance that the document will be read without the tape recording playing alongside for the purpose of comparison. Id. at 1540-41 (citations omitted). In fact, precautionary procedures have been developed by the federal courts to decrease the risk that jurors will rely more heavily on the unadmitted transcript than admitted taped recordings. See, e.g., United States v. Robinson, 707 F.2d 872, 876 (6th Cir.1983); United States v. Slade, 627 F.2d 293, 302 (D.C.Cir.1980). Because of the danger that the jury might rely on an unadmitted transcript that contains statements attributed to the defendant that cannot be heard on the tape, we deem it appropriate to discuss procedures for trial courts to follow when faced with this circumstance in the future. For example, as set forth in Slade, the ideal procedure for testing accuracy is to have the prosecution and defense attorneys stipulate to a transcript. 627 F.2d at 302. If they cannot agree, the second best alternative is for the trial court to make a pretrial determination of accuracy by reading the transcript against the tapes to ascertain whether the transcript is accurate. Id. A third alternative is to present the jury with two transcripts, containing both sides' versions, and let the jury determine which is more accurate. In this situation, because no one transcript is presented as correct, the judge need not necessarily listen to the tapes or pass on the accuracy of any transcript. Id. (quoting United States v. Onori, 535 F.2d 938, 948 (5th Cir.1976)); see also Robinson, 707 F.2d at 876 (noting that the third method is the least preferred method to use during trial). While the Eighth Circuit's procedures for use of transcripts are slightly different, its goal is consistent with the other circuits, which is to set forth procedures to ensure the accuracy and fairness of the transcripts. See United States v. McMillan, 508 F.2d 101, 105 (8th Cir.1974). First, the transcript should normally be used only after the defendant has had an opportunity to verify its accuracy and then only to assist the jury as it listens to the tape. Id. In cases where a defendant disputes the accuracy of the transcript, a foundation may first be laid by having the person who prepared the transcripts testify that he has listened to the recordings and accurately transcribed their contents. Id. Reviewing the available procedures for allowing juries to use transcripts, the Sixth Circuit in Robinson ultimately concluded: We therefore reiterate our preference for using a transcript when the parties stipulate to its accuracy. But in the absence of a stipulation, we hold that the transcriber should verify that he or she has listened to the tape and accurately transcribed its content. The court should also make an independent determination of accuracy by reading the transcript against the tape. Where, as here, there are inaudible portions of the tape, the court should direct the deletion of the unreliable portion of the transcript. This, however, assumes that the court has predetermined that unintelligible portions of the tape do not render the whole recording untrustworthy. Finally, we find submission of two versions of the transcript prejudicial when the tape is significantly inaudible. Such a practice would undoubtedly inspire wholesale speculation by the parties and engender jury confusion. It would be entirely too difficult for the jury to read two separate transcripts while listening to the tape recording. Furthermore, this method is impractical in cases such as this where the defendant has asserted his fifth amendment right to remain silent. Robinson, 707 F.2d at 878-79 (emphasis supplied). In recognition of the case law in this State that has allowed the use of transcripts under certain circumstances, we set forth guidance for trial courts facing this situation in the future. The goal is for the trial court to balance the benefit of giving the jury an aid to understanding the tape against the danger of allowing an unadmitted transcript to become the evidence upon which the jury relies where neither the judge nor jury would be able to verify the accuracy of what is contained on the transcript. Preliminarily, the trial court must determine that the unintelligible portions of the tape do not render the whole recording untrustworthy. See Odom, 403 So.2d at 940; Henry, 629 So.2d at 1059; Harris, 619 So.2d at 342. As for the transcript, trial courts should exercise extreme caution before allowing transcripts of recordings to be viewed by the jury. See Robinson, 707 F.2d at 876; Slade, 627 F.2d at 302. The preferred approach is for the parties to stipulate to the accuracy of the transcript. See Slade, 627 F.2d at 302. If there is a dispute as to the accuracy, the trial court should make an independent pretrial determination of the accuracy of the transcript after hearing from persons who can properly testify as to its accuracy. See Robinson, 707 F.2d at 876; Slade, 627 F.2d at 302. Those who may be able to verify the accuracy of the transcript are: (1) the actual participants to the conversation; or (2) those who listened to or overheard the conversation as it was being recorded, so long as such persons can establish that the quality of the conversation that they overheard or listened to was better at the time they overheard it than the quality of the tape recording. [5] We emphasize that there may be a difference between tape recordings that are difficult to hear and of poor quality and those that contain inaudible portions. Where the tapes are partially inaudible, jurors will be unable to make an intelligent comparison between the recording and the transcript. Under such circumstances, [t]he practical effect of using an aid to comprehend unintelligible matter is that the aid becomes the evidence. Robinson, 707 F.2d at 878. Accordingly, if the trial court determines that there are inaudible portions of the tape, the trial court should delete the inaudible portions from the transcript before submitting the transcript to the jury. See id. In addition, as in this case, where a transcribed version of an audio-video tape is used as an aid to the jury and there is no stipulation as to its accuracy, trial courts should give a cautionary instruction to the jury regarding the limited use to be made of the transcript. [6] See Slade, 627 F.2d at 303. For example, the following instruction, quoted with approval by the Fourth District, was given by the trial court in Macht: This transcript is not admitted and won't be admitted into evidence. The evidence is what's on the tape recording. If there's a conflict between what the transcript says and what you hear the tape says[,] the evidence is the tape, not the transcript and if you'reif you hear a conflict[,] what's on the tape is what the evidence is. 642 So.2d at 1138 (alteration in original). [7] The federal circuits that have considered this issue agree that whenever a transcript is allowed by the trial court, it is important that the judge instruct the jurors that their personal understanding of the tape supersedes the text in a transcript. Slade, 627 F.2d at 302; see Holton, 116 F.3d at 1541; Onori, 535 F.2d at 949; McMillan, 508 F.2d at 106. In this regard, although the trial court should provide jurors with cautionary instructions, we also note that such instructions are only viable when the tape is clear enough for a juror to detect that the tape is at variance with the transcript. Robinson, 707 F.2d at 878. Having reviewed the proper procedures to be employed prospectively for using transcripts at trial, we now turn to the transcript in this case. Martinez admits that Sloane Martinez could authenticate the transcript because she participated in the recorded conversation. See Grimes, 244 So.2d at 135; Macht, 642 So.2d at 1138. However, Martinez claims that the transcript could not be used at trial because Sloane Martinez admitted that she alone did not prepare the transcript. Although Sloane was not solely responsible for the preparation of the transcript, she was able to verify its accuracy. Specifically, she testified that she recalled the original conversation while making the transcript. In addition, she stated that the transcript only included words that she could actually make out from the tape. Furthermore, we find no error in also allowing Detective Conigliaro to authenticate the transcript. Detective Conigliaro testified at trial that the conversation between Sloane and Martinez sounded so much clearer from the surveillance van than it did on the audio-video taped recording. Nevertheless, we caution that the trial court should not allow the validity of the transcript to be bolstered by testimony from those who simply listened to the tape after it was made. As discussed by First District in Harris, if the authenticating witness neither participated in nor overheard the recorded conversation as it was taking place, the authenticating witness would be in no better position than the jury to determine the contents of the tape recording. Harris, 619 So.2d at 343; see Henry, 629 So.2d at 1059 ([I]t was error for the trial court to allow the transcript to be used by the jury where the transcript was prepared by a person who did not witness the events recited in transcript.). We next turn to Martinez's claims that the transcript includes many inaudible portions. In support of this, he points to comments made by the trial court and the prosecutor as well as portions of the tape the court reporter shows as inaudible that appear on the transcript. However, the fact that the court reporter did not transcribe all of the portions that appeared on the transcript does not establish that those portions transcribed are in fact inaudible. Rather, it may simply show that from the court reporter's vantage point, portions of the recording were too difficult to hear to be able to simultaneously record them. While the court reporter is required to transcribe the contents of the tapes as they are played at trial, the court reporter's transcript of the tape does not establish the inaccuracy of the transcript or the tape's audibility. See Lawrence v. State, 632 So.2d 1099, 1100 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994). The videotape is part of the record on appeal on this case. We agree that the videotape is of poor quality and portions of the conversation are difficult to hear for a variety of reasons, including young children crying, occasional passing trains, and background interference on the tape. Thus, if upon remand Martinez is able to establish that there is an inaccuracy in the transcript or that a portion of the tape is inaudible (as opposed to difficult to hear), the court should exercise its discretion in deleting those portions of the transcript. However, because Sloane Martinez participated in the actual conversation, she would be able to testify to what Martinez actually said. See § 90.803(18)(a), Fla. Stat. (1995). As for the use of the transcript by the jury, the transcript was not admitted into evidence and jurors were not allowed to use the transcript during their deliberations. Nevertheless, the transcript was available to the jury during the playing of the video taped conversation. It appears that the transcript was also available during Sloane Martinez's direct examination, including when she testified as to her personal knowledge of what was on the inaudible portions of the recorded conversation after prosecutors played the tape to the jury. Allowing jurors to review the transcript during both the playing of the audio-video tape and during Sloane Martinez's testimony could have placed undue emphasis on the transcript and we caution the trial court to ensure that the transcript's use is limited. Although the trial court did not give a cautionary instruction, we also note that none was requested and the failure to give such an instruction would not rise to the level of fundamental error. See Archer v. State, 673 So.2d 17, 20-21 (Fla.1996). However, because we are reversing for other reasons, we direct that if, upon remand, the trial court again decides it permissible to allow the jury to use a transcript of the conversation as an aid to understanding, a cautionary instruction should be given. Accordingly, for the reasons stated in this opinion, we reverse Martinez's convictions, vacate his sentences, and remand for a new trial. It is so ordered. HARDING, C.J., and SHAW, PARIENTE, LEWIS and QUINCE, JJ., concur. ANSTEAD, J., specially concurs with an opinion. WELLS, J., concurs in result only with an opinion. ANSTEAD, J., specially concurring. I concur in the majority opinion and write separately only to note my view that while it is clear that the tape recording was sufficiently audible to be admitted, a transcript of the tape recording made in this case should not be used for any purpose upon retrial. It is for the jury to determine what is contained in the tape recording. Of course, those that listened to the conversation being recorded can testify to what they heard. But permitting that testimony is far different than presenting the jury with a tangible transcript that contains statements that the jurors themselves cannot hear when listening to the recording. The recording speaks for itself, and is the best evidence of what it says. WELLS, J., concurring in result only. I concur only in the result in this case. I conclude that the opinion of the police officer does create the same serious adverse effect which concerned the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 18-19, 105 S.Ct. 1038, 84 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985). At trial, the force of the police officer's opinion of guilt is prejudicially irrelevant in favor of the unique responsibility of the jury to make that decision. I do not join in the argument portion of the opinion. I do not join in what I am concerned is an expansion of the doctrine of fundamental error as it relates to closing argument. I do not join in that portion of the opinion with respect to the use of a transcript that sets out a procedure for the future use of such transcripts. While I do not take particular issue with any part of the procedure, I believe the establishment of such procedures should be done by rule and not by opinion. By proposing a rule, the pros and cons of various parts of a procedure are able to be thought through so that potential problems with the procedure will be better understood. That does not happen when we do this in an opinion. I am wary of unintended consequences. Therefore, I cannot join.