R. v. Lee

R. v. Lee

A spreadsheet prepared by a qualified forensic accountant that tabulates financial data from over 15,000 disclosed source documents and contains no opinions is admissible under the voluminous documents exception to the hearsay rule without requiring tender of the source documents, subject to the parties' continued rights to tender or rely on the source documents at trial.

Citation
2011 NSPC 5
Parties
Crown/prosecution: Her Majesty the Queen; Accused/defendant: Sherri Dawn Lee
Court
Nova Scotia Provincial Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
31 January 2011
Procedural Posture
Criminal Theft and Fraud / Pre Trial Admissibility Application (voluminous Documents Exception)
Outcome
Application granted; spreadsheet admitted for use at trial under the voluminous documents exception
Legal Topics
Voluminous Documents Exception, Hearsay Rule, Admissibility of Summaries, Disclosure, Computer Generated Evidence
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Evidence Fraud Voluminous Documents Exception Hearsay Rule Admissibility of Summaries Disclosure Computer Generated Evidence

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Parties

Her Majesty the Queen

Crown/prosecution

Sherri Dawn Lee

Accused/defendant

Procedural Posture

Criminal Theft and Fraud / Pre Trial Admissibility Application (voluminous Documents Exception)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a spreadsheet summary prepared from over 15,000 source business records is admissible under the voluminous documents exception to the hearsay rule
  2. 2 Whether source documents must be tendered into evidence when a summary is offered for the truth of its contents
  3. 3 Whether the spreadsheet contains opinions or interpretations that would render it inadmissible as a summary

Ratio Decidendi

A spreadsheet prepared by a qualified forensic accountant that tabulates financial data from over 15,000 disclosed source documents and contains no opinions is admissible under the voluminous documents exception to the hearsay rule without requiring tender of the source documents, subject to the parties' continued rights to tender or rely on the source documents at trial.

Court Disposition

Application granted; spreadsheet admitted for use at trial under the voluminous documents exception

Orders

  • Spreadsheet admitted as evidence at trial (tendered as Exhibit 2 on the Application) without requirement that the underlying source documents be tendered
  • Source documents remain available to the defence by disclosure and the defence retains the right to tender source documents and to cross-examine the preparer