Authenticity of records; verification; affidavit, declaration, or certification.

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§806D-3 Authenticity of records; verification; affidavit, declaration, or certification. (a) Upon written request from the applicant or if ordered by the issuing court, the recipient of criminal process shall verify the authenticity of records that the recipient produces by providing an affidavit or declaration that complies with subsection (b). The requirements of rule 902(11) of the Hawaii rules of evidence regarding business records as evidence may be satisfied by an affidavit, or declaration that complies with subsection (b), without the need for testimony from the custodian of records, regardless of whether the business records were produced by a foreign or Hawaii entity.

(b) To be admissible without testimony from the custodian of records, a business record shall be accompanied by an affidavit or declaration from its records custodian or other qualified person, including contact information for the person completing the affidavit or declaration and an attestation to the following:

(1) The person is the custodian of the record or sets forth evidence that the witness is qualified to testify about the record;

(2) The record was made at or near the time of the act, condition, or event set forth in the record by, or from information transmitted by, an individual with knowledge of those matters;

(3) The record was kept in the course of the regularly conducted activity;

(4) The record was made by the regularly conducted activity as a regular practice;

(5) The identity of the record and the mode of its preparation; and

(6) The record is either the original or a duplicate that accurately reproduces the original.

(c) A party intending to offer a record into evidence under this section shall provide written notice of that intention to all adverse parties, and shall make the record and affidavit or declaration available for inspection sufficiently in advance of the party's offer into evidence to provide an adverse party with a fair opportunity to challenge the party. A motion opposing admission in evidence of the record shall be made and determined by the issuing court before trial and with sufficient time to allow the party offering the record to, if the motion is granted, produce the custodian of the record or other qualified person at trial, without creating hardship on the party or on the custodian of the record or other qualified person.

(d) Failure by a party to timely file a motion under subsection (c) shall constitute a waiver of objection to admission of the evidence, but the court for good cause shown may grant relief from the waiver. If the court grants relief from the waiver, and thereafter determines the custodian of the record shall appear, a continuance of the trial may be granted to provide the proponent of the record sufficient time to arrange for the necessary witness to appear.

(e) Nothing in this section shall preclude either party from calling the custodian of the record or other witness to testify regarding the record. [L 2012, c 325, pt of §2]


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