T.D.W. v. State

The key issue in the trial below was whether appellant was adequately identified as one of the three boys who burgled a home. The identification was based in part on the testimony of a detective who described what she saw on a surveillance videotape she viewed outside the courtroom. The crucial camera angle upon which the detective based her identification did not appear on the copy of the surveillance video offered into evidence at trial. Because the detective’s testimony identifying appellant on the surveillance video violated the best evidence rule, we reverse.

A deputy sheriff testified…