Tag:Admissibility

Key Insight: Videotape depicting defendant abusing his victims was properly authenticated for admission as evidence pursuant to M.R. Evid. 901 where defendant was repeatedly depicted in the tape, where ?the largely sequential nature of the events depicted? supported the inference that the tape was not tampered with, and where the state introduced testimony from the victim and her family to establish that the victims in the tape were the victims referenced in the indictment

Nature of Case: Criminal indictment for sexual exploitation of a minor and related charges

Key Insight: Finding ?no reason why social media profiles may not be circumstantially authenticated in the same manner as other forms of electronic content – by their content and context?, court found that a paper copy of a MySpace profile page was properly authenticated by the presence of a photograph of the alleged owner of the profile on the printed page, the presence of unique identifiers such as her date of birth, number of children, and use of the admitted nickname of her boyfriend, ?Boozy?, and by the testimony of an officer that he believed the profile belonged to the alleged owner for the reasons previously listed (presence of unique identifiers, etc.)

Nature of Case: Criminal

Electronic Data Involved: MySpace profile page

Key Insight: Where defendant challenged admission of hard copy images and video reproduced from electronic files on DVD which were copied from hard drives found in defendant?s computer, Supreme Court declined to extend best evidence rule to require admission of the hard drives themselves and, where forensic expert testified to the integrity of the copying process and where testimony was presented that verified the reproductions were accurate representations of the illicit material for which defendant was charged, court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals that the evidence was properly admitted

Nature of Case: Possession of child pornography

Electronic Data Involved: Images copied from DVDS with in turn were copied from original hard drives

Key Insight: Court found edited copy of surveillance tape was properly authenticated and admitted where, pursuant to the N.J. Best Evidence Rule, duplicates are admissible to the same extent as the original unless a question is raised as to the authenticity of the original, which defendant did not do, and where the testimony of the patrolman who viewed the original surveillance tape established that the copy was an accurate duplication of the pertinent parts of the original tape, and where there was no showing of unfairness in the production of the edited tape rather than the original

Nature of Case: Criminal / Robbery

Electronic Data Involved: Copy of surveillance tape

Key Insight: Where, based on chain of custody testimony, the trial court admitted a videotape discovered by defendant?s roommate and given to the police, but where there was no testimony concerning the making of the videotape or where it was kept or who had access to it during the nearly three year period from the time of its making to its discovery, and where the appellate court acknowledged that ?because films are so easily altered, there is a very real danger that deceptive tapes, inadequately authenticated, could contaminate the trial process,? appellate court found admission of the tape was in error and that the error was not harmless and ordered a new trial

Nature of Case: Sex abuse

Electronic Data Involved: Videotape

Key Insight: Emails were properly authenticated by defendant?s acknowledgment that he sent the emails at issue during a recorded interview with detectives, by the victim?s testimony that she was familiar with defendant?s email address and signature and by defendant?s own offering of emails between himself and the victim which contained identical email addresses to those emails challenged on appeal

Nature of Case: Criminal

Electronic Data Involved: Emails

Key Insight: Court found ?computer-generated? exhibits summarizing loss adjustment expense payments ?fit squarely within the business records exception to hearsay? and were properly authenticated by the testimony of an employee who, although not responsible for actually inputting each piece of data that was summarized in the exhibit, was sufficiently familiar with the record system that his ?description of the process used to create the summaries was sufficient to authenticate the evidence?

Nature of Case: Breach of insurance contract

Electronic Data Involved: Computer-generated summaries

Key Insight: Where plaintiff offered printouts of defamatory statements from website for the limited purpose of proving the statements appeared on the worldwide web on the days that plaintiff personally saw the statements and printed them from the computer, testimony of plaintiff of his personal knowledge of the content was sufficient to authenticate the documents

Nature of Case: Defamation

Electronic Data Involved: Printout of website

Key Insight: Where a forensic examiner appointed by the discovery referee submitted a declaration that the emails admitted into evidence were retrieved from plaintiff?s computer and that the printouts were accurate representations of the retrieved messages, and where the emails contained information only the plaintiff would know and the trial court found that ?the emails ?were, at least in part, authenticated by the plaintiff himself?, the appellate court found that there was sufficient evidence to support the trial court?s finding that the emails were genuine

Nature of Case: Violations of Political Reform Act

Electronic Data Involved: Emails