INADVERTENT RECORDING OF A CONVERSATION BETWEEN MOTHER AND CHILD SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ADMITTED IN EVIDENCE, NO TESTIMONY THE RECORDING WAS NOT ALTERED AND NO EVIDENCE OF CHAIN OF CUSTODY.

The Third Department determined the inadvertent recording of a conversation between mother and child in this custody proceeding should not have been admitted in evidence. Although mother testified the recording capture her and the child’s voices, she did not testify the recording had not been altered:

“The predicate for admission of tape recordings in evidence is clear and convincing proof that the tapes are genuine and that they have not been altered. Absent such proof, the [witness’s] concession that the voice on the tapes is his or hers and that he or she recalls making some of the statements on the tapes does not exclude the possibility of alteration and, therefore, does not sufficiently establish authenticity to make the tapes admissible” … . The foundation laid for the introduction of the recording into evidence was the mother’s testimony that the telephone call was made by the child using the mother’s cell phone, the voices on the recording were hers and the child’s, she listened to the recording “[q]uite a few” times and her friend, Amanda Coon, was present when the recording was made. After this testimony, Family Court admitted the recording into evidence. The mother’s testimony was insufficient to authenticate the recording because she did not testify as to whether or not the recording was the complete and unaltered conversation between her and the child, and “there was no attempt to offer proof about who recorded the conversation, how it was recorded (e.g., the equipment used) or the chain of custody” … . Matter of Williams v Rolf, 2016 NY Slip Op 07884, 3rd Dept 11-23-16

FAMILY LAW (INADVERTENT RECORDING OF A CONVERSATION BETWEEN MOTHER AND CHILD SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ADMITTED IN EVIDENCE, NO TESTIMONY THE RECORDING WAS NOT ALTERED AND NO EVIDENCE OF CHAIN OF CUSTODY)/EVIDENCE (FAMILY LAW, CUSTODY, INADVERTENT RECORDING OF A CONVERSATION BETWEEN MOTHER AND CHILD SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ADMITTED IN EVIDENCE, NO TESTIMONY THE RECORDING WAS NOT ALTERED AND NO EVIDENCE OF CHAIN OF CUSTODY)/CUSTODY (EVIDENCE, INADVERTENT RECORDING OF A CONVERSATION BETWEEN MOTHER AND CHILD SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ADMITTED IN EVIDENCE, NO TESTIMONY THE RECORDING WAS NOT ALTERED AND NO EVIDENCE OF CHAIN OF CUSTODY)/RECORDINGS (FAMILY LAW, CUSTODY, INADVERTENT RECORDING OF A CONVERSATION BETWEEN MOTHER AND CHILD SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ADMITTED IN EVIDENCE, NO TESTIMONY THE RECORDING WAS NOT ALTERED AND NO EVIDENCE OF CHAIN OF CUSTODY)