ROBERT SPRINGER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Robert Springer was convicted of trafficking in cannabis and sentenced to five years imprisonment with a mandatory minimum and a $25,000 fine. On appeal, the court reversed and remanded for a new trial, finding that the trial court erred in admitting audio tapes of an undercover sting operation that were nearly unintelligible, as they constituted a major part of the State's case.
The trial court erred in admitting the audio tapes due to their almost total inaudibility, particularly where the tapes constituted a major part of the State's case. The court distinguished cases allowing admission of partially unclear recordings, finding this case fell within the prohibition established in Carter v. State for recordings that are so unintelligible that jurors might speculate on isolated portions.
[1] A conviction must be reversed when the trial court errs in admitting audio tapes that are substantially inaudible, as this may lead to jury speculation.
[2] A recording should not be wholly inadmissible due to partial incompleteness, as the jury may consider the unclear portions when assessing the recording's value.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the trial court erred in allowing the jury to hear a tape recording of such poor quality that it was unintelligible because the jurors might have speculated upon various isolated portions which could be heard”
Establishes the legal standard from Carter v. State that unintelligible recordings should be excluded to prevent jury speculation
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant was charged with and convicted of trafficking in cannabis in excess of 100 pounds but less than 2,000 pounds. The prosecution's case relied …
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BERANEK, Judge.
Appellant was charged with and convicted of trafficking in cannabis in excess of 100 pounds but less than 2,000 pounds. He was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with a three-year mandatory minimum, and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine. Appellant raises four points on appeal all revolving around the admission of audio and video tapes of an undercover sting operation. We find one of appellant’s arguments to be meritorious and reverse for a new trial.
Appellant contends that the trial court erred in failing to suppress the audio and video tapes in view of their inaudibility. He objected to the tapes and moved for a mistrial based on their total inaudibility. Appellant relies on the case of Carter v. State, 254 So. 2d 230 (Fla. 1st DCA 1971), in seeking a new trial. In that case, the First District determined that the trial court erred in allowing the jury to hear a tape recording of such poor quality that it was unintelligible because the jurors might have speculated upon various isolated portions which could be heard. The State places its reliance on the case of Gomien v. State, 172 So. 2d 511 (Fla. 3d DCA 1965), which held that a recording should not be wholly inadmissible because portions of the recording are unclear. According to the Third District, “a partial incompleteness of a record-' ing may be used by the defense as a factor to be considered by the jury when determining the value to place on the recording.” At 515. We distinguish Gomien because that case deals with a “partial incompleteness of a recording.” This case seems to fall within the purview of Carter as we are faced with almost total inaudibility. Further, the tapes were a major part of the State’s case as presented to the jury.
We note in reading the trial transcript that each time a tape was played, the court reporter sitting three feet away from the tape placed a comment in the transcript to the effect that the tape was inaudible. Unfortunately, the reporter never brought the inaudibility of the tapes to the court’s attention as they were being played so we are left with no transcript. It was incumbent upon the reporter to inform the court of his inability to transcribe the tapes at the time the tapes were played. We do, however, find it significant that the reporter was three feet from the tape recorder and could not understand the tape. Our ruling goes only to the audio tapes and not to the video tapes. Appellant has not complained of the clarity of the video tapes which may be relevant independent of the audio portion. We, therefore, reverse and remand for a new trial at which the trial court may consider again whether the voice recordings are capable of being understood by the jury. If they are substantially audible, they are admissible.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
HERSEY and GLICKSTEIN, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Herrera v. State, 532 So. 2d 54 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)…4th DCA 1988); Matheson v. State, 468 So. 2d 1011 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985), cause dismissed, 500 So. 2d 1341 (Fla.1987); State v. Steinbrecker, 409 So. 2d 510 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); Gomien v. State, 172 So. 2d 511 (Fla. 3d DCA 1965). Cf. Springer v. State, 429 So. 2d 808 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983) (admission of almost totally inaudible tape reversible error); Carter v. State, 254 So. 2d 230 (Fla. 1st DCA 1971) (same), cert. denied, 257 So. 2d 260 (Fla.1972). Appellant has not demonstrated that the trial court abused its di…
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State v. Andres, 552 So. 2d 1151 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)…iting United States v. Roark, 753 F. 2d 991 (11th Cir.1985)), rev. granted, 547 So. 2d 635 (Fla.1989). Tape recordings of undercover sting operations are admissible and do not unfairly prejudice a defendant where they are audible. Springer v. State, 429 So. 2d 808 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983). Because the statements are relevant to the issue of guilt, and are not excluded by any other rule of law, they are admissible evidence. § 90.402, Fla.Stat. (1987). The order is reversed and the cause remanded for trial.…
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Crews v. State, 442 So. 2d 432 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983)…ted at trial. See Odom v. State, 403 So. 2d 936 (Fla.1981). The audio portions of the tape are incomprehensible at numerous points, but the video is of sufficient clarity to be able to identify persons appearing on the screen. Cf. Springer v. State, 429 So. 2d 808 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983). The video combined with the partial audio constitute substantial evidence against Crews. In view of our conclusion on this point, we do not find reversible error on the part of the trial judge in not having first previewed the v…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Gomien v. State, 172 So. 2d 511 (Fla. 3d DCA 1965)
- Carter v. State, 254 So. 2d 230 (Fla. 1st DCA 1971)