Opinion ID: 1613998
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether the chancellor erred in refusing to admit the videotapes submitted by Foster.

Text: ¶ 41. Foster claims that the chancellor erred in refusing to admit the videotapes of the sessions in which Laughter executed the March and May wills. Foster contends that these tapes demonstrate the deterioration of Laughter's health and help to prove her claim that the May will is invalid due to a lack of testamentary capacity and/or undue influence. ¶ 42. A trial judge is granted broad discretion in his evidentiary determinations. Jones v. State, 920 So.2d 465, 475 (Miss.2006). This Court will not overturn such a determination unless the judge abused his discretion to such an extent as to be prejudicial to one of the parties. Copeland v. Copeland, 904 So.2d 1066, 1073 (Miss.2004) (quoting Stewart v. Stewart, 645 So.2d 1319, 1320 (Miss.1994)). ¶ 43. Before a videotape may be admitted into evidence, the party attempting to introduce it must properly authenticate it. To do this, the proponent of the tape must prove three elements: [r]elevancy of the subject matter to the issues, identity of the subject matter, and that the moving pictures present an accurate and faithful representation of the scenes filmed. Pittman v. Miss. Power & Light Co., 368 So.2d 238, 240 (Miss.1979) (quoting Barham v. Nowell, 243 Miss. 441, 449, 138 So.2d 493, 495 (1962)). ¶ 44. We find that Foster failed to properly raise this issue on appeal. In her brief, Foster does not reference any authority in support of her contention that the tapes should have been admitted; indeed, she does not even mention their exclusion in the Argument section of her appellate brief. The only argument Foster makes as to this issue is in her reply brief, and there, her only citation to authority is for the proposition that videotapes are helpful in determining the validity of a will. Thus, we are not required to address this issue. See Shavers v. Shavers, 982 So.2d 397, 401 (Miss.2008) (citing Ellis v. Ellis, 651 So.2d 1068, 1072 (Miss. 1995)). ¶ 45. Had this issue been properly raised, it would not change the result. The chancellor indicated that he was not excluding the tapes on their merits, but rather because a proper predicate had not been laid for their introduction. Foster failed to provide any evidence that the tapes she provided were what she claimed they were. [8] Since Foster did not properly authenticate the tapes or provide any evidence that they were properly submitted, the chancellor did not abuse his discretion in holding that no proper predicate had been laid for their introduction. ¶ 46. Since we are remanding this case, however, this finding does not prejudice Foster. We are remanding this cause for a determination as to whether Laughter had testamentary capacity when he executed the May will and whether Laughter was unduly influenced by Williams at the time of the May will. On remand, therefore, the admissibility of the tapes will be subject to the relevance and authentication requirements set forth in the Mississippi Rules of Evidence.