19-19-1004. Admissibility of other evidence of content.
An original is not required and other evidence of the content of a writing, recording, or photograph is admissible if:
(a)All the originals are lost or destroyed, and not by the proponent acting in bad faith;
(b)An original cannot be obtained by any available judicial process;
(c)The party against whom the original would be offered had control of the original; was at that time put on notice, by pleadings or otherwise, that the original would be a subject of proof at the trial or hearing; and fails to produce it at the trial or hearing; or
(d)The writing, recording, or photograph is not closely related to a controlling issue.
Source: SL 1979, ch 358 (Supreme Court Rule 78-2, Rule 1004); SDCL §19-18-4; SL 2016, ch 239 (Supreme Court Rule 15-68), eff. Jan. 1, 2016.