criminal-law rules-of-evidence hearsay
Can an audio recording prove a defendant&#39;s innocence?
<p>Defendant is in jail for a gun charge. The gun is not his, nor did he know it was in the vehicle.</p>
<p>Defendant's girlfriend has an audio recording of the gun's owner admitting to owning the gun but refusing to say so to law enforcement because he bought the gun off the street.</p>
<p>Can that audio recording prove that Defendant is innocent of the gun charge?</p>

<p>Defendant's girlfriend should produce the copies of the recording to police, the prosecutor, and the defense attorney.</p>
<p>Possession of the recording should induce the police and prosecution to at least re-evaluate the charges against Defendant, as Defendant would be able to subpoena the gun's owner to testify about the purchase and then use the recording to impeach him if he then denies owning the gun.</p>
<p>It is unclear, though, whether the audio actually has any value because we don't know what charges Defendant is facing. If he's charged with unlawfully owning a gun, the recording would likely be quite helpful; if he's charged with unlawfully transporting a weapon, the recording's value would probably depend on whether the law in question outlaws &quot;knowingly&quot; transporting a weapon or &quot;negligently&quot; transporting a weapon, or transporting a weapon regardless of whether he knew about it.</p>

<p><strong>If</strong> the recording was made lawfully, it should be admissible, and <strong>might</strong> help such a defendant. But it might well not fully settle the issue. Even if the defendant is proved not to <strong>own</strong> the gun s/he might have placed it in the car, or known that it was there. Either of those might be enough to sustain the charges, depending on exactly what the charged are.</p>
<p>Such a defendant would be very wise to consult an experienced criminal lawyer. There might well be other important issues in the defense of any charges.</p>
