Opinion ID: 1584634
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: authentication of certification document

Text: Jacobson argues it was error to admit the Certificate of Calibration and Accuracy because it was not supported by sufficient foundation. Preliminary questions concerning the admissibility of evidence shall be determined by the judge, Neb.Rev.Stat. § 27-104 (Reissue 1995). Whether there is sufficient foundation evidence for the admission of physical evidence must necessarily be determined on a case-by-case basis. State v. Anglemyer, 269 Neb. 237, 691 N.W.2d 153 (2005). A trial court's determination of the admissibility of physical evidence will not ordinarily be overturned except for an abuse of discretion. Id. Jacobson contends the certification document lacked proper foundation because it was neither notarized nor in the form of an affidavit. He also claims Stopak had no personal knowledge of the information on the document because he had not tested the tuning forks or witnessed the tuning forks being tested. Stopak did not know the person who signed the certificate or whether the date on the document (October 6, 2004) represented the date the equipment was tested, the date the certificate was signed, or both. A document is properly authenticated by evidence sufficient to support a finding that the matter in question is what its proponent claims. See Neb.Rev.Stat. § 27-901(1) (Reissue 1995). An acknowledgment certified by a notary public may provide sufficient authentication, see Neb. Rev.Stat. § 27-902(8) (Reissue 1995), but it is not the only manner in which a document may be authenticated. Under § 27-901(2)(a), the requirement of authentication or identification as a condition precedent to admissibility may be satisfied by testimony that a matter is what it is claimed to be. Proper authentication may also be attained by evidence of appearance, contents, substance, internal patterns, or other distinctive characteristics, taken in conjunction with circumstances, sufficient to support a finding that the matter in question is what it is claimed to be. See, § 27-901(2)(d); State v. Carter, 255 Neb. 591, 586 N.W.2d 818 (1998). This court has observed: The plain language of [Neb. Evid. R.] 901 is directory rather than mandatory. . . . We are also guided in our application of rule 901 by federal court decisions explaining Fed.R.Evid. 901, which is effectively identical to Nebraska's rule 901 and upon which it was based. . . . It has been said that federal rule 901 does not erect a particularly high hurdle. . . . [T]he proponent of the evidence is not required `to rule out all possibilities inconsistent with authenticity, or to prove beyond any doubt that the evidence is what it purports to be.'. . . The authentication requirement does not demand that the proponent of a piece of evidence conclusively demonstrate the genuineness of his or her article, but only that he or she make a showing `sufficient to support a finding that the matter in question is what its proponent claims.' Anglemyer, 269 Neb. at 243, 691 N.W.2d at 160 (citations omitted). Stopak testified that the Certificate of Calibration and Accuracy was made for his radar unit and tuning forks. He had sent the radar unit and tuning forks to the State Patrol technicians in Lincoln, Nebraska, for routine testing. Once the certification was completed, the equipment was returned to Stopak and he was given the certification document to retain. Although Stopak did not witness this testing, he stated that he had witnessed technicians performing similar accuracy tests and issuing similar documents on occasions when the technicians had set up their equipment in his troop area. In October 2003, Stopak was present when his radar unit and tuning forks were tested. He stated that the certification admitted into evidence was in the same form as paperwork regularly issued to officers to show that their instruments had been tested for accuracy. He further testified that testing is done annually. The certification admitted as evidence was dated October 6, 2004. It could be reasonably inferred from Stopak's testimony that October 6, 2004, was the date the radar accuracy check was conducted. A document may be authenticated under § 27-901(2)(a) by testimony by one with personal knowledge that it is what it is claimed to be, such as a person familiar with its contents. See Hal Roach Studios v. Richard Feiner and Co., 896 F.2d 1542 (9th Cir.1990) (corporate registration statement properly authenticated by testimony of board chairman who had personal knowledge of its contents). A showing of specific authorship is not always necessary. See United States v. Helmel, 769 F.2d 1306 (8th Cir.1985) (proper foundation laid for ledger with entries by unknown writer where document's contents revealed that writer was familiar with particular transactions involved and there was other circumstantial evidence indicating that ledger was properly authenticated). Stopak's testimony concerning his knowledge of the contents of the certification document and the circumstances surrounding its creation was sufficient evidence to prove that the tuning forks were independently tested for accuracy. The county court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the document.