I need to use phone records from 2001 to 2004 to prove an old embezzlement case. The records were obtained by the investigator from an in-going president, but contain phone records from the out-going president's time in office. There is no custodian per se, just a treasurer that signed checks, a part time secretary that took messages, and the president who used the company phone for personal use--the embezzlement. This company did not generate these records--it was their phone use records that were kept for accounting purposes.

How to enter the phone records? The phone companies no longer have the records and cannot get me a new affidavit of business records because they say they can only go back 2 years.

The investigator used those phone records to painstakingly add up a felony amount of misused funds. He will need to use the info in them to testify, so without the records, he has no way to get those amounts in front of the jury.

Any ideas?

One old misdemeanor chief taught us: "Offer STRONG."

John, if only I could!

I have been instructed to make this case happen, so I am trying to be creative...but am having trouble getting anywhere. Am thinking of attempting to use the prior treasurer as custodian, he received the bills and wrote the checksand without it coming in through him I won't get past a directed verdict.

Has anyone successfully used someone other than the phone company for custodian of records for phone bills?

Or any other legal reasons besides business records that they would be admissible?

How about calling a live witness from whichever phone company billed your defendant's company? Even if they won't give you a current custodian because they don't have the records anymore, Rule 803(6) also provides for an "other qualified witness" to prove them up. If you have full phone bills, it seems that someone that works or used to work in for that phone company in billing or something similar would be qualified to identify their bills and indicate that maintaining those records was done in the regular course of business. You may still have a potential authentication issue since they can't compare them to existing records, but this would at least get you past the hearsay problem.

Jeff, I thought about that and it may be my only option. I'm not sure if someone in this technological age of computers and printers would look at a document and testify that it was in fact their company's unless they had found it in their own search. But we will check and see.