Opinion ID: 620897
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Admission of the 2005 Gift List as a Business Record Was Harmless Error

Text: Reese next argues that even if testimony about the gift list was admissible under Rule 404(b), the gift list itself was inadmissible because (1) the 2005 gift list was not a business record; (2) no qualified witness testified to the accuracy and authorship of the 2005 gift list; (3) the 2005 gift list was more prejudicial than probative; and (4) the admission of the list violated Reese's Sixth Amendment right to confrontation because the author of the list was not called to testify. We agree that the district court erred by admitting the 2005 gift list as a business record but find that error was harmless. See, e.g., United States v. Thornton, 642 F.3d 599, 606 (7th Cir.2011). A party establishes a foundation for admission of business records when it demonstrates through the testimony of a qualified witness that the records were kept in the course of a regularly conducted business activity, and that it was the regular practice of that business to make such records. United States v. Given, 164 F.3d 389, 394 (7th Cir.1999); see also Fed.R.Evid. 803(6) (business record exception to the hearsay rule). A qualified witness need not be the author of the document but must have personal knowledge of the procedure used to create and maintain the document. See id.; see also United States v. Muhammad, 928 F.2d 1461, 1469 (7th Cir.1991). Although Romasanta testified that she knew that Garneata had a regular practice of giving holiday gift cards, she lacked knowledge of the practice of creating and maintaining the list. Romasanta testified that she was not sure whether Garneata actually wrote down a list, whether he made a list every year or used the same one, or what he did in terms of recordkeeping. Romasanta's lack of personal knowledge concerning the recordkeeping meant that the list failed to satisfy what is now subsection (D) in Rule 803(6). The evidence also failed to satisfy subsections (C) (making the record was a regular practice of that [regularly conducted] activity) and (E) (no indication of lack of trustworthiness). There was no adequate showing that it was a regular practice to make this sort of record, to maintain it, or to rely upon it. The idea behind Rule 803(6) is that when a record is kept with sufficient regularity, the existence of an entry (or the absence of one) is good evidence that the thing in question took place (or did not take place). Business records are reliable to the extent they are compiled consistently and conscientiously. United States v. Ramsey, 785 F.2d 184, 192 (7th Cir.1986) (district court erred by admitting notes on businessman's calendar as business records, though error was harmless). The list here was found by accident in an abandoned notepad, not in regular files that were maintained, and Romasanta could not testify that it was the regular practice to make these lists, let alone maintain them and rely upon them. Therefore, the district court abused its discretion by admitting the 2005 gift list as a business record. See, e.g., Collins v. Kibort, 143 F.3d 331, 338 (7th Cir.1998) (finding the witness was not qualified to testify about medical bills where he did not know anything about the hospital's billing practices). Nonetheless, the error in admitting the 2005 gift list as a business record was harmless error. Errors in the admission of evidence will be deemed to be harmless unless they had a substantial and injurious effect or influence on the jury's verdict. Datamatic Servs., Inc. v. United States, 909 F.2d 1029, 1033 (7th Cir.1990) (internal quotations omitted). Reese argues the error was not harmless because the list was the only documentary evidence supporting the existence of any improper payment to Reese. Reese further argues that the prejudice from the admission of the list was not mitigated by a limiting instruction. However, Romasanta testified about Garneata's practice of giving holiday gift cards, testimony this court has found was admissible and not unduly prejudicial. The actual gift list itself was merely cumulative of that testimony. Moreover, the evidence presented at trial overwhelmingly demonstrated Reese's participation in a conspiracy with Johnson and Oros. The testimony of Johnsona cooperating witnessand Oroswho testified unwillingly and under a grant of immunitywas further corroborated by the telephone conversations between Reese and Danny and between Reese and Johnson, as well as the testimony of Pierre-Antoine, who testified about his experience with Reese and Johnson. In light of the evidence presented at trial, the admission of the actual 2005 gift list was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See, e.g., Price, 516 F.3d at 605 (finding that the district court's error in admitting the document as a business record was harmless where the jury was presented with substantially similar evidence); United States v. Franco, 874 F.2d 1136, 1141 n. 1 (7th Cir.1989) (finding that even if the court erred in admitting the records, the error was harmless because of the substantial evidence of the defendant's role in the conspiracy). Because we have concluded that the error was harmless, we need not determine whether admission of the 2005 gift list violated Reese's right to confront the author of the list. Coy v. Iowa, 487 U.S. 1012, 1021-22, 108 S.Ct. 2798, 2803, 101 L.Ed.2d 857, 867 (1988) (Confrontation Clause violations are subject to harmless-error review); Thornton, 642 F.3d at 606.