United States v. Espinoza
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
641 F.2d 153 (4th Cir. 1981)
Joseph Espinoza (defendant) was charged with transporting child pornography. A witness, Clifford Holdren, testified that he would call a phone number, ask for 'Joe,' and order pornography from the man who answered, though Holdren admitted he had never met Joe in person and could not identify him by sight. Separately, the prosecution introduced evidence that Espinoza's fingerprint was found on an invoice for pornography sent to Holdren. Espinoza objected to Holdren's testimony about the phone calls, arguing there was no proper foundation identifying him as 'Joe.'
Whether a party's proffered testimony about a witness's telephone conversation may be conditionally admitted based on circumstantial evidence that the other party to the call is who the proffering party claims.