Authenticating tele recordings on paper

[ArkStepMom]

Hi Soc;

In Arkansas, where we are a 'one party state'. We have recorded BM's communications over the phone with us for several years now and have pain stakingly transcribed it all to paper, verbatim.

Q1) Are these communications admissable in court?

if not/so

Q2) What can be doen to ensure the judge believes the conversion to be accurate? Notary?

[socrateaser]

>Hi Soc;
>
>In Arkansas, where we are a 'one party state'. We have
>recorded BM's communications over the phone with us for
>several years now and have pain stakingly transcribed it all
>to paper, verbatim.

>
>Q1) Are these communications admissable in court?

Your transcriptions are hearsay, unless you have the original recordings available and you lay a proper foundation for their admission into evidence. You must testify to how and when the recordings were each made, and then testify that they were made by you while speaking with the other party.

If you still have the actual recordings, then you need to hire a certified court reporter to transcribe them. That avoids having to deal with the possibility that the court will find your transcription biased.

There are some tricks to using this sort of evidence, also, there may be other evidence laws in your jurisdiction that can prevent the use of a recording made without the other party's consent as evidence, even if there is no particular criminal prohibition to making the recording.

>
>Q2) What can be doen to ensure the judge believes the
>conversion to be accurate? Notary?

See above.

[patton]

If you know of anyone else on the court docket that has tape recorded, or ask the attorney about it.

I know from personal experience,  I let the attorney listen to the tapes and we read some of the transcriptions.................but the Judge actually NEVER listened to any of the tapes.  The attorney told the Judge in chambers what was on the tapes.

So I think a lot depends on who the Judge is.  The Attorney should have this information.