Evidence - State v. Loveless: Inaudible Or Unintelligible Tape Recordings
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Authors
Fehringer, Raymond J.
Issue Date
1983
Volume
16
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
INTRODUCTION|State v. Loveless presented the Nebraska Supreme Court with its first opportunity to rule on the admissibility of partially unintelligible and inaudible tape recordings, and the admissibility of transcripts and expert testimony to interpret such tapes.|Late in the evening of January 12, 1980, Steven M. Loveless and two companions, Martin Kulakofsky and Herschell Gitchell, drove from Missouri Valley, Iowa to Blair, Nebraska. According to Loveless, the three had gone to a bar in Blair and, after a disagreement arose between them, he left the bar and began walking back to Missouri Valley. At approximately 3:00 a.m., Kulakofsky and Gitchell were detained by the Blair police, on suspicion of criminal activity. Officer Warden of the Blair Police Department left Kulakofsky and Gitchell alone in the back seat of a cruiser while he conducted an on-the-site investigation. Before leaving the cruiser, Warden turned on a microcassette tape recorder and left it on the front seat of the cruiser. A tape recording of the subsequent conversation between Kulakofsky and Gitchell was received into evidence to rebut Loveless' testimony that he had not accompanied Kulakofsky and Gitchell to the area where they were detained. After they were released, Kulakofsky and Gitchell returned to Missouri Valley, stopping to pick up Loveless who was walking along the highway. The following evening, Loveless drove Gitchell back to Blair to retrieve a crowbar and screwdriver from a ditch near the area where Kulakofsky and Gitchell were detained the night before. The men were stopped by the police as they left town and arrested for possession of burglary tools...
Description
Citation
16 Creighton L. Rev. 305 (1982-1983)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law