You are here: / / AN EXCEPTION TO THE BEST EVIDENCE RULE APPLIED, ALLOWING TESTIMONY DESCRIBING...
,

AN EXCEPTION TO THE BEST EVIDENCE RULE APPLIED, ALLOWING TESTIMONY DESCRIBING THE CONTENTS OF DESTROYED VIDEO SURVEILLANCE (FOURTH DEPT). ​

The Fourth Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Bannister, determined an exception to the best evidence rule applied and testimony about the contents of a destroyed video surveillance was properly admitted in this grand larceny case:

Defendant appeals from a judgment … arising from the theft of wireless speakers valued in excess of $3,000 from a Target store … . Prior to trial, the People moved in limine for permission to introduce testimony from the store’s asset protection team leader (APT leader) regarding the contents of destroyed video surveillance footage that had depicted the incident. * * *

The best evidence rule “simply requires the production of an original writing where its contents are in dispute and sought to be proven” …  “The rule protects against fraud, perjury, and inaccurate recollection by allowing the [factfinder] to judge a document by its own literal terms” … . “Under a long-recognized exception to the best evidence rule, secondary evidence of the contents of an unproduced original may be admitted upon threshold factual findings by the trial court that the proponent of the substitute has sufficiently explained the unavailability of the primary evidence . . . and has not procured its loss or destruction in bad faith” … . The proponent of the secondary evidence “has the heavy burden of establishing, preliminarily to the court’s satisfaction, that it is a reliable and accurate portrayal of the original. Thus, as a threshold matter, the trial court must be satisfied that the proffered evidence is authentic and correctly reflects the contents of the original before ruling on its admissibility” … . * * *

… [T]he People met their burden of establishing that the APT leader’s testimony regarding the unpreserved footage was a reliable and accurate portrayal of the contents of that footage … . People v Jackson, 2020 NY Slip Op 07744, Fourth Dept 12-23-20

 

You might also like
IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE, THERE IS A QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER THE MUNICIPALITY OWED A DUTY TO PLAINTIFF BASED UPON THE MUNICIPALITY’S LAUNCHING AN INSTRUMENT OF HARM; IT WAS ALLEGED THAT SALT APPLIED TO MELT ICE CREATED A POOL OF WATER WHICH FROZE AND CAUSED PLAINTIFF’S FALL (FOURTH DEPT).
MOTHER TIMELY REVOKED HER EXTRA-JUDICIAL SURRENDER OF HER CHILD FOR ADOPTION; FAMILY COURT SHOULD NOT HAE DENIED MOTHER’S MOTION TO DEEM THE SURRENDER A NULLITY AND SHOULD NOT HAVE CONDUCTED A BEST INTERESTS HEARING (FOURTH DEPT).
PLACE OF BUSINESS EXCEPTION TO CRIMINAL POSSESSION OF A WEAPON DID NOT APPLY WHERE DEFENDANT’S EMPLOYER PROHIBITED POSSESSION OF FIREARMS IN THE WORKPLACE.
THE TEXTS AND EMAILS WERE NOT SUBSCRIBED; THE BREACH OF CONTRACT ACTION BASED UPON THE EMAILS AND TEXTS WAS BARRED BY THE STATUTE OF FRAUDS (FOURTH DEPT).
IN THIS NEGLIGENT SUPERVISION ACTION AGAINST A SCHOOL DISTRICT, THE DISTRICT DEMONSTRATED A STUDENT’S SEXUAL ASSAULT OF PLANTIFF WAS NOT FORESEEABLE (FOURTH DEPT).
PLAINTIFF COLLIDED WITH DEFENDANTS’ BLACK ANGUS BULL IN THE ROADWAY ON A DARK RAINY NIGHT, EVEN ASSUMING DEFENDANTS’ NEGLIGENCE PURSUANT TO THE DOCTRINE OF RES IPSA LOQUITUR, PLAINTIFF DID NOT DEMONSTRATE HER FREEDOM FROM COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE, PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FOURTH DEPT).
THE PROPONENT OF A MISSING WITNESS CHARGE MUST FIRST DEMONSTRATE THE TESTIMONY OF THE MISSING WITNESS WOULD NOT MERELY BE CUMULATIVE (FOURTH DEPT).
PROSECUTOR ADMONISHED FOR IMPROPER REMARKS IN SUMMATION (CONVICTION NOT REVERSED HOWEVER); INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE OF PHYSICAL INJURY TO SUPPORT ASSAULT 3RD CONVICTION.

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2025 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

HEARSAY INSUFFICIENT TO DEFEAT PLAINTIFF’S SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION IN... THE APPEAL WAIVERS WERE NOT EXECUTED UNTIL SENTENCING AND WERE THEREFORE INVALID;...