United States v. Carbone
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
798 F.2d 21 (1986)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Luis Carbone (defendant) was charged with various drug crimes. At trial, the prosecution (plaintiff) introduced tape recordings from a body recorder that an undercover Drug Enforcement Agency agent had used. Because portions of the recordings were inaudible, the recording had been enhanced to remove background noise and generally improve the audibility. The prosecution called witnesses to describe how the body recorder worked and how the recordings were made, including how the enhancement process worked. In addition, the voices on the tape recording were identified by witnesses present during the conversations. The trial judge permitted the jury to see transcripts of the recordings and follow along during the playing of the recordings. The judge instructed the jury that the transcripts were merely a tool to understand the recordings and were not to be used as independent evidence. Carbone was convicted, and he appealed, arguing that the recordings should not have been admitted and that the transcripts should not have been used.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Bownes, J.)
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