Opinion ID: 2100623
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: admission of videotapes and audiotape.

Text: During Hall's testimony, the Commonwealth played for the jury videotapes of the August 29, 2001, and September 10, 2001, transactions, each recorded by the device placed inside Hall's vehicle. Because the October 17, 2001, transaction took place inside a different vehicle, it could not be videotaped, and the Commonwealth instead played for the jury an audiotape recorded by the device placed on Hall's person. Appellant claims that each of these three tapes was inaudible and argues that, for this reason, their admission was reversible error. Appellant concedes that he did not preserve this issue by contemporaneous objection, but requests review for palpable error. KRE 103(e). It is within the discretion of a trial judge to decide whether because portions of a tape are inaudible or indistinct, the entire tape must be excluded. Sanborn v. Commonwealth, 754 S.W.2d 534, 540 (Ky.1988). Where the inaudible portions are not so substantial as to render the recordings untrustworthy as a whole, the trial court generally acts within its discretion in admitting the recordings. Norton v. Commonwealth, 890 S.W.2d 632, 636 (Ky.App.1994). Here, portions of the audiotape of the October 17, 2001, transaction were indeed inaudible, but the inaudible portions were not so pervasive as to render the recording untrustworthy as a whole. Thus, the trial court did not err in its admission. The videotapes depicting the August 29, 2001, and September 10, 2001, transactions were largely inaudible. Nevertheless, the first videotape captured the visual image of Appellant sitting inside Hall's vehicle, and the second videotape showed Appellant leaning inside Hall's vehicle. In placing Appellant at the location of both crimes at the time they were occurring, the videotapes contained elements that were probative of the charges against Appellant and were thus properly admitted. Cf. Johnson v. Commonwealth, 90 S.W.3d 39, 46 (Ky.2002) (While many parts of the tapes are completely inaudible, some of the parts of the tapes ... are sufficiently audible and probative of the charges....). Moreover, a palpable error must be one that would have been obvious to the trial court. Ernst v. Commonwealth, 160 S.W.3d 744, 758 (Ky.2005). Here, despite the fact that Appellant's trial attorney reviewed the videotapes before trial, he failed to object to their admission, thus failed to put the trial court on notice that the videotapes would be inaudible. Each videotape was very brief, and any potential error arising from inaudibleness would not have been obvious to the trial court until the playing of the videotape was concluded. Accordingly, the judgments of conviction and sentences imposed by the Montgomery Circuit Court are affirmed. All concur.