United States v. Duffy
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
454 F.2d 809 (1972)
James Duffy (defendant), an auto-body-shop employee, disappeared along with a recently traded-in vehicle; he was prosecuted for transporting the stolen car across state lines. At trial, witnesses testified about a shirt with a laundry mark "D-U-F" found in a suitcase in the stolen car's trunk, without the shirt itself being introduced. Duffy objected under the best-evidence rule, relying on Watson v. United States, which had held that testimony about revenue stamps on containers was inadmissible because the containers were the best evidence; Duffy was convicted and appealed.
Whether the original of an item that is both a chattel and a writing must be produced when the trial court determines that the best evidence rule's underlying policy does not require treating the item as a writing.