Wyoming Supreme Court

Jonathon Tyson Blair v. the State of Wyoming

September 28, 2022517 P.3d 597

Summary

The Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed Blair’s convictions after concluding the district court acted within its discretion in admitting WiFi connection records under the business-records exception. The State did not establish that the records were exclusively computer-generated, so the court declined to decide whether such records would constitute hearsay, but the evidence sufficiently showed that the underlying WiFi data was regularly maintained in the course of business. The court also declined to consider foundation objections that Blair had not raised below.

Holding

  • Preservation of foundation objections. A party may not raise new challenges to the foundation of business records for the first time on appeal because doing so deprives the opposing party of an opportunity to cure any deficiency in the proof. The court therefore limited review to Blair’s preserved argument that the records were not kept or created as part of a regularly conducted business activity.
  • Admission of WiFi records under the business-records exception. The district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the WiFi records under W.R.E. 803(6). The relevant business record was the underlying WiFi data maintained in the network-management system, not merely the screenshots or spreadsheet formats later created for trial, and the testimony about management of the network and access to the dashboard supported the finding that the data was regularly maintained in the course of business.

Docket S-22-0001

Cited authorities

  • Fed. R. Evid. 801
  • Fed. R. Evid. 803(6)
  • 104 Mich. L. Rev. 151
  • Fed. R. Evid. 901(a)
  • Fed. R. Evid. 901(b)(9)
  • Fed. R. Evid. 901
  • 126 Yale L.J. 1972

Cited by

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