State v. Perelli

Upon the first trial of this case a lieutenant of state police was offered as a witness by the state and asked to relate a conversation he had overheard between the defendants while they were in jail, carried to him by dictaphone. Such part as was in English he had repeated to an assistant; he translated the Italian portion and dictated the English, and the assistant had written it all down in a book. The witness was unable to testify without using a memorandum he had made from the book. Upon the appeal we concluded that although his testimony purported to be that of a recollection refreshed…