Chapter 11 - § 11.3 • SUMMARIES OF DOCUMENTS

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 11.3 • SUMMARIES OF DOCUMENTS

Colorado

➢ Summaries Admissible. "The contents of voluminous writings, recordings, or photographs which cannot conveniently be examined in court may be presented in the form of a chart, summary, or calculation. The originals or duplicates, shall be made available for examination or copying, or both, by other parties at reasonable time and place. The court may order that they be produced in court." CRE 1006.
➢ Foundation for Admission of Summaries. "For admission, the proponent of the summary evidence must (1) identify the documents underlying the summary and show them to be voluminous; (2) establish that the underlying documents are otherwise admissible evidence; (3) provide the other party with a copy of the summary in advance of its use; and (4) provide 'the opposing party with a reasonable time and place for examination of the available documents underlying such summary.'" U.S. Welding, Inc. v. B&C Steel, Inc., 261 P.3d 513, 517 (Colo. App. 2011) (quoting People v. McDonald, 15 P.3d 788, 790 (Colo. App. 2000)).

➢ Summaries Admissible over Best Evidence Rule. "Evidence admissible under CRE 1006 is not objectionable on the ground that it violates the 'best evidence rule.' [Citations omitted.] If a proper foundation has been established, questions concerning the authenticity of the evidence or the credibility of the testimony go to the weight of the evidence, not its admissibility." Metro Nat'l Bank v. Parker, 773 P.2d 633, 634 (Colo. App. 1989).

➢ Basis of Summaries a Condition of Admissibility. "It is a condition precedent to the admission of a summary that the originals or duplicates of underlying materials must be made available for examination by [the] parties at a reasonable time and place. A party's right to examine and inspect the documents or records from which the summary is prepared is not affected by its failure to seek discovery of the underlying materials." Int'l Technical Instruments, Inc. v. Engineering Measurements Co., 678 P.2d 558, 562 (Colo. App. 1983), superseded on other grounds by statute, as stated in Colo. Dep't of Social Services v. Bethesda Care Center, Inc., 867 P.2d 4 (Colo. App. 1993).

➢ Argumentative Summaries are Prohibited. "[W]hen a summary is admitted in lieu of the underlying documents, the summary must not be 'embellished

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