South Dakota Codified Laws 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;
Terms Used In South Dakota Codified Laws 19-19-1004
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(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.