Meyers v. United States
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
171 F.2d 800 (D.C. Cir. 1948)
Relevant factsFree
Bennett Meyers (defendant) was charged with perjury-related offenses connected to testimony given by Bleriot Lamarre at a U.S. Senate hearing. At trial, the prosecution called William Rogers, who had questioned Lamarre at the hearing, to testify from memory about what Lamarre said, and separately introduced the hearing's stenographic transcript into evidence. Meyers was convicted and appealed, arguing that Rogers's testimony about Lamarre's statements violated the best-evidence rule because a written transcript of those same statements existed.
IssueFree
Whether the best-evidence rule applies only when a party seeks to prove the contents of a writing.