Opinion ID: 1793829
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Dr. Davis' Computer Created Poster

Text: Appellant argues that the trial court erred in allowing Dr. Davis to display the poster of the brace hinge superimposed over the L-shaped abrasion on Ms. Bauer's leg. Specifically, appellant asserts that the state failed to establish the scientific reliability of the software used to create the poster as required by such cases as Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993), and Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C.Cir.1923). Appellant's reliance on Frye and Daubert is misplaced. Both cases concern the foundational requirements for admitting an expert's testing procedures and results as substantive evidence. See Daubert, 509 U.S. at 582, 113 S.Ct. 2786; Frye, 293 F. at 1014. In the present case, Dr. Davis' poster was not admitted as substantive evidence that appellant's brace caused the abrasion on Ms. Bauer's leg. Rather, the poster was used only as illustrative evidence to assist Dr. Davis in explaining his independent comparison of the actual brace hinge to the autopsy photograph of the L-shaped abrasion. Our longstanding rule governing the admissibility of illustrative evidence is that such evidence is admitted, when properly verified, to illustrate or express the testimony of a competent witness, but [is] not original evidence. Strasser v. Stabeck, 112 Minn. 90, 92, 127 N.W. 384, 385 (1910). Verification and authentication of such evidence may be made by having a knowledgeable witness testify that the exhibit is a substantially correct representation of what that witness independently observed. See State v. Lawlor, 28 Minn. 216, 218, 9 N.W. 698, 699 (1881); Minn. R. Evid. 901(b)(1); Charles T. McCormick, McCormick on Evidence § 213 (John W. Strong, ed., 4th ed.1992). In the present case, Dr. Davis actually placed appellant's brace on the autopsy photograph. Both he and Dr. McGee testified that such comparisons are a common practice among medical examiners seeking to determine the cause of an injury. In subsequently creating the poster, Dr. Davis used rulers and scales to ensure that size and proportion were depicted accurately. Thus, Dr. Davis was able to, and did, verify, from first-hand knowledge, that the image depicted on the poster was a substantially accurate representation of the important elements of his independent comparison of the brace hinge and the autopsy photograph. Accordingly, we hold that Dr. Davis, a competent and knowledgeable witness, laid the proper foundation to use the poster to illustrate his testimony concerning that independent comparison. Because the trial court did not receive the poster as substantive evidence of a scientific or medical fact, we need not decide whether the proper foundation was laid to admit the poster for such purposes. Appellant also argues that the poster should have been excluded under Minn. R. Evid. 403 because its probative value was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Specifically, appellant argues that the jury may have been misled into believing that the poster was actually a photograph of the brace hinge placed on Ms. Bauer's leg. We acknowledge that the trial court could have helped clarify the issue by instructing the jury on the illustrative nature of the poster. However, on direct examination, Dr. Davis testified at length as to how the poster was created and what it depicted. Moreover, with extensive cross-examination and in its closing arguments, the defense had ample opportunity to, and did, point out the relative weaknesses of the image depicted on the poster. Finally, any danger that the poster would be used in a context other than to illustrate Dr. Davis' testimony was largely alleviated by the trial court's ruling excluding the poster from the jury deliberation room. Therefore, we hold that the probative value of the poster was not outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice.