Fisher v. State
Court of Appeals of Arkansas
643 S.W.2d 571 (Ark. App. 1982)
Fisher (defendant) was charged with stealing groceries after a store's security video showed her and her daughters taking the items. The store manager, who had set up and turned on the camera and confirmed it was working properly before leaving, testified that the camera functioned continuously with no gaps in the tape, and that it had not been tampered with by the time he returned. Fisher moved to exclude the tapes, arguing that because no witness had personally observed the theft, no one could verify the tapes were a 'fair and accurate representation' of what happened; the trial court denied her motion and convicted her, and she appealed.
Whether photographic evidence may be admitted as substantive evidence without a witness verifying that it accurately represents the subject matter depicted.