Opinion ID: 1998954
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Admission of Scale Slips

Text: [¶ 8] The court admitted, over Nelson's objection, an exhibit consisting of scale slips produced by Sappi from its computer database that the State argued showed the quantity, type, and reported origin location of wood that Nelson's drivers delivered to the mill. To lay a foundation for the admission of the documents, the State presented the testimony of Sappi's scaling quality manager, who trains and supervises the employees entering information onto scale slips and who helped to identify the scale slips included in the exhibit. [¶ 9] We review the trial court's decision on the admissibility of evidence for abuse of discretion or clear error. See State v. Willette, 2002 ME 165, ¶ 11, 809 A.2d 617, 621. To admit a business record, which is an exception to the hearsay rule, the party offering the evidence must lay a proper foundation by presenting testimony of the custodian or other qualified witness showing that: (1) the record was made at or near the time of the events reflected in the record by, or from information transmitted by, a person with personal knowledge of the events recorded therein; (2) the record was kept in the course of a regularly conducted business; (3) it was the regular practice of the business to make records of the type involved; and (4) no lack of trustworthiness is indicated from the source of information from which the record was made or the method or circumstances under which the record was prepared. State v. Radley, 2002 ME 150, ¶ 14, 804 A.2d 1127, 1131-32 (paraphrasing M.R. Evid. 803(6) (quotation marks omitted)). Nelson concedes criteria two and three. [¶ 10] The witness was intimately involved in the daily operation of the [business] and his testimony showed the firsthand nature of his knowledge, and therefore he was a qualified witness. See Ne. Bank & Trust Co. v. Soley, 481 A.2d 1123, 1126 (Me.1984) (quotation marks omitted). Additionally, the first Radley criterion was met by the State's demonstration through the witness's testimony that the scale slips were created by Sappi employees at the time of delivery of the wood, with the employees entering information based on firsthand observations and trip tickets submitted by drivers. See Radley, 2002 ME 150 ¶ 14, 804 A.2d at 1131. [¶ 11] Further, there are no indicia that the scale slips are unreliable. Nelson argues that because the slips, which were stored in a computer database, were printed long after the entry of the data and for purposes of litigation, they are untrustworthy. However, Nelson improperly focuses on the time of printing the records rather than the entry of the raw data. United Air Lines, Inc. v. Hewins Travel Consultants, Inc., 622 A.2d 1163, 1168 (Me. 1993). The witness testified about the data collection process at the time of the deliveries, explained that the record-keeping system had been tested for accuracy on several occasions, and stated that he had always found the scale slip entries to be accurate. The court did not err or abuse its discretion in admitting the scale slips as a business record.