Section 6.15 Examples of Business Records

• Library: Sources of Proof (2014 Ed.)

E. (§6.15) Examples of Business Records

Different businesses produce many different kinds of records that may be admitted as evidence depending on the issues in a particular case. Examples of business records include the following:

• 911 Tapes— State v. Edwards, 31 S.W.3d 73 (Mo. App. W.D. 2000).

• Alcohol Influence Reports— Guccione v. Dir. of Revenue, 988 S.W.2d 649, 654 (Mo. App. E.D. 1999), overruled on other grounds by Verdoorn v. Dir. of Revenue, 119 S.W.3d 543 (Mo. banc 2003) (the alcohol influence report, which included the trooper’s attestation that he was authorized to use a breath analyzer, was admissible as a business record).

• Arrest Records— State v. Weindorf, 361 S.W.2d 806 (Mo. 1962); Thebeau v. Dir. of Revenue, State of Mo., 945 S.W.2d 674 (Mo. App. E.D. 1997).

• Autopsy Reports— State v. Weaver, 912 S.W.2d 499 (Mo. banc 1995); York v. Daniels, 259 S.W.2d 109, 123 (Mo. App. S.D. 1953) (records of pathologists’ observations and findings during autopsy identified by lab technician were admissible as business record); see also State v. Jackson, 925 S.W.2d 856, 862 (Mo. App. W.D. 1996).

• Certificate of Analysis of a Breathalyzer— Vossmeyer v. Dir. of Revenue, 991 S.W.2d 723, 725 (Mo. App. E.D. 1999) (the certificate of analysis for a simulator solution used to calibrate a breath analysis machine was admissible as a business record).

• Computer-Generated Business Records— Union Elec. Co. v. Mansion House Ctr. N. Redevelopment Co., 494 S.W.2d 309, 315 (Mo. 1973) (“The statute was intended to bring the realities of business and professional practice into the courtroom . . . .”); Med. Shoppe Int’l, Inc. v. Mehra, 882 S.W.2d 709, 713 (Mo. App. E.D. 1994) (material, relevant computer-generated information is admissible if: “(1) the business regularly employs electronic computer equipment to enter and store information; (2) the entries are made in the ordinary course of business, near the time of the events recorded; and, (3) the court is satisfied that the sources of information, the mode and time of preparation indicate trustworthiness . . .”); see also Crowe v. Coursey, 601 S.W.2d 650, 653 (Mo. App. S.D. 1980) (it is not necessary that the original records forming the basis for the entries in the computer still exist); Estate of West v. Moffatt, 32 S.W.3d 648, 653 (Mo. App. W.D. 2000).

• Consumer Price Index Prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics— Cole v. Cole, 532 S.W.2d 508, 509 (Mo. App. E.D. 1975).

• Corporate Office Records— Glynn v. Glynn, 291 S.W.2d 190 (Mo. App. S.D. 1956); Stivers Lincoln-Mercury, Inc. v. Abbott, 796 S.W.2d 923 (Mo. App. E.D. 1990).

• Credit Summaries— St. Louis Realty Fund v. Mark Twain S. County Bank 21, 651 S.W.2d 568, 575 (Mo. App. E.D. 1983) (a credit summary of a prospective customer used to submit a loan application to a

...