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01-3759 U.S. v. Thomas

By: dmc-admin//July 1, 2002//

01-3759 U.S. v. Thomas

By: dmc-admin//July 1, 2002//

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“In this case, Indihar listened to the tapes, identified the voices of Thomas and Officer Romano, as well as his own, and testified that the tapes did, in fact, accurately reflect the recorded conversation. It is undisputed that Indihar was sufficiently familiar with the voices of Thomas and Romano to enable him to authenticate the recorded conversations. Moreover, during the conversation, Indihar stepped away from Thomas only briefly but remained in the immediate vicinity. Thus, Indihar served as a competent witness for the authentication of the tape. Thomas argues that the government did not prove that the tape was not altered, but ‘merely raising the possibility (however hypothetical) of tampering is not sufficient to render evidence inadmissible.’ Brown, 136 F.3d at 1182. Further, Officer Farrell testified as to the manner in which the tapes were recorded and stored. The district court was satisfied that the government put forth the proper foundation for the admissibility of the tapes. We are satisfied as well that no extraordinary circumstances exist to disturb the district court’s decision to admit the tapes into evidence.”

Affirmed.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Hibbler, J., Bauer, J.

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