Planning
to use printouts from your opponent's web site
to
prove your case? Better check your print options.
In State
v. American Blast Fax, Inc., No. 00CV933,
2002 WL
508330 (March 13, 2002), a civil suit meant to
stop
the transmission of unsolicited faxed advertisements, a
judge
of the Eastern District of Missouri rejects as a state's
exhibit
a hard copy print of the defendant's web page.
The state
confidently contended that there was no hearsay
problem
with this evidence because it was an admission by
a party
opponent. But, “the real problem” with the document
“was
that it was missing portions of the wording on the right
margin.
In
other words, it was an incomplete copy of the
actual
web page. As was demonstrated at the hearing,
portions
of sentences were cut off, and nobody, including
the
witness who had identified the document, knew what
words
were missing on many of the pages.”
Because
the exhibit was “not a complete and accurate
representation
of the website,” the defendant’s objection to
it was
sustained.