83 Mass. App. Ct. 1131 (2013)
The
defendant was charged with larceny of property valued in excess of $250 for
carrying away and selling plumbing supplies and hardware to Midstate Metal
Recovery LLC. The defendant’s mother
presented the defendant’s cell phone records that show in between July 1, 2009
and March 2, 2010, 153 telephone calls transpired between the defendant and the
owner of Midstate Metal Recovery LLC. The
defendant challenged the admissibility of the telephone records downloaded by
and presented through his mother. He
also claimed that the admission of those records violated the best evidence
rule.
Upon reviewing this matter, the
Appeals Court of Massacusetts found that the admission of the telephone records
by the judge constituted neither an error of law, nor an abuse of
discretion. The records were admissible
as business records, and as such, the keeper of the records did not need to
appear in court to authenticate them. As the customer of the telephone account,
the defendant’s mother was entitled to gain access to the records and to
testify to her familiarity with their form.
Further, the Court found that the best evidence rule does not apply in
these circumstances. G.L. c. 233, § 79K
authorizes the introduction of any printout that reflects data stored in a
computer, and the best evidence rule is generally one of discretionary and
practical application. Therefore, the
admission of the telephone records did not violate any remaining standard of
the best evidence rule. The Appeals
Court of Massachusetts affirmed the judgment of the trial court.
Written 7/2013
