Prosecutors had wiretaps which purpotedly established that Junior Lantigua, Miguel Mejias, and Antonio Rodriguez were involved in an international drug trafficking ring. But because those recordings were primarily in Spanish, the New York County Supreme Court permitted a Spanish translator to interpret the tapes, and also allowed an independent expert to explain the meaning of the coded language that the men utilized. (The expert was also permitted to use a map to illustrate the flow of the narcotics across international borders.)
After the men were convicted of an array of crimes, the trio appealed but the Appellate Division, First Department, didn't see a problem with what had happened in their case--particularly since the information helped jurors with processing the evidence in a "complex" case.
See how that mapped out?
To view a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: People v Lantigua