Opinion ID: 1772836
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: witness interview tapes

Text: At the conclusion of the Commonwealth's case, the Commonwealth moved to admit taped statements by various witnesses who testified at trial. These statements were in the form of taped interviews between the witnesses and the Kentucky State Police. The Commonwealth did not want the tapes played during trial. Rather, the Commonwealth wanted the tapes available for the jury to review during deliberations. The defense objected on lack of foundation, on grounds that the tapes were inadmissible prior consistent statements that only served to bolster prior testimony, and on grounds that the evidence was substantially more prejudicial than probative and should be excluded under KRE 403. The trial court ruled that the tapes were admissiblefor the purpose of jury review during deliberationssubject to the Commonwealth laying a proper foundation. After reviewing the tapes, the defense objected to the introduction of the tapes on the additional ground that the tapes needed to be redacted to eliminate evidence of other crimes. In response to these objections, the trial court redacted some or all of the tapes in part. But the trial court still made the tapes available for the jury to review. In its charge to the jury before it began deliberating, the trial court stated in pertinent part: Additionally, these exhibits, one exhibit I think is four or five tapes. If you want to listen to those you can, but you don't have a machine to do that and that's strictly up to you and if so, you can inform the Bailiff and I will see that you have a machine to do that. The record shows that the jury did in fact ask for a machine during its deliberation in order to review the tapes. After the jury returned its verdict in the guilt or innocence phase of the trial, but before the sentencing phase, the defense moved for a mistrial on grounds that allowing the jury to hear the tapes violated RCr 9.74, which provides: No information requested by the jury or any juror after the jury has retired for deliberation shall be given except in open court in the presence of the defendant (unless the defendant is being tried in absentia) and the entire jury, and in the presence of or after reasonable notice to counsel for the parties. This rule was clearly violated when the jury was allowed to play the tapes in the privacy of the jury room. The tapes were not played in open court. Neither Mills nor his counsel was present when the tapes were played. Finally, it does not appear that counsel was notified prior to the jury's request for a machine to play the tapes. In Lett v. Commonwealth, Ky., 284 Ky. 267, 144 S.W.2d 505 (1940), the jury, after it had begun its deliberations, requested to hear the court reporter read a portion of a witness's statement. The trial court agreed to the request and did not notify defense counsel prior to allowing the jury to hear the evidence. The Lett Court held that this violated a then-current criminal rule that provided: After the jury retires for deliberation, if there be a disagreement between them as to any part of the evidence,    they must require the officer to conduct them into court. Upon their being brought into court, the information required must be given in the presence of, or after notice to, the counsel of the parties. Id. at 509 (asterisks in the original). In holding the error to be reversible even though there was no allegation of prejudice, the Lett Court stated: It has been recognized since time immemorial, under the common law, the federal and our Constitution, that when one is charged with a felony the trial must be had in the presence of the accused, and that the accused has the right to be heard by himself and counsel. The Code provision makes it quite plain that if there be disagreement as to evidencewhich must have existed here, else no reason for the requestany elucidation must not be had without notice to counsel. The reason is obvious, and particularly applicable here, where the witness had given contradictory testimony. It is beyond our power to make a rational guess as to the effect of the failure to have re-read the contradictory evidence. Id. The factual differences in this case weigh in Mills' favor and not against him as argued by the Commonwealth. Most of the Commonwealth's brief on this issue is devoted to the admissibility of the tapes as prior inconsistent statements. Nothing in the record shows that a proper foundation was laid for admitting the statements under KRE 613 in this case; thus, the statements were inadmissible. Perhaps more importantly, the error goes far beyond violating a rule of evidence. Unlike the transcript re-read in Lett , the interview tapes were never heard by the jury during the trial in the presence of Mills and his counsel. The statements were never subjected to adversarial testing. Allowing the jury to hear these tapes in the manner described above was an error of serious constitutional magnitude. For the reasons set forth above, the judgment of the Johnson Circuit Court is hereby reversed and this case is remanded for a new trial. LAMBERT, C.J.; COOPER, GRAVES, KELLER, and STUMBO, JJ., concur. WINTERSHEIMER, J., concurs in result only.