United States v. Marcantoni
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
590 F.2d 1324 (5th Cir. 1979)
During a consented search of the Marcantonis' (defendants) home, a detective found and recorded the serial numbers of cash bills without seizing them, later discovering those serial numbers matched money stolen in an armed bank robbery; when the detective returned with a warrant to seize the bills, they could no longer be found in the house. At trial, the detective and a currency expert testified the bills they had seen matched those taken in the robbery, and the trial court overruled the Marcantonis' objection that the best evidence rule required producing the actual bills rather than testimony about them, without stating specific reasons; they were convicted and appealed.
Whether, under the best evidence rule, secondary evidence of a document is admissible if the original is unobtainable.