## Facts

- Federal prosecutors charged Phyllis Briscoe and multiple codefendants with participating in an international heroin trafficking conspiracy involving importation into the United States.
- After a jury trial in the Northern District of Illinois, defendants were convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and related offenses.
- The government introduced computerized telephone toll records showing call-related data among relevant phone numbers and parties.
- A telephone company records custodian testified that the company regularly compiled and maintained computerized call records in the ordinary course of business and that the exhibits were special printouts derived from routinely kept data.
- The custodian also testified that the computer system performed automatic internal error checks approximately every 15 seconds.
- Defendants objected to admission of the toll records under the business-records exception, arguing the government failed to prove reliability because it did not show monthly error testing similar to testing described in an earlier Seventh Circuit case.

## Issues

1. Whether computerized telephone toll records were admissible as business records under Federal Rule of Evidence 803(6) based on the custodian’s foundation testimony.
2. Whether Rule 803(6) required proof of a specific error-checking protocol (such as monthly manual testing) to establish the reliability of computer-generated records.
3. Whether, assuming a foundational defect, admission of the toll records warranted reversal.

## Decision

- The Seventh Circuit affirmed the convictions.
- The court held the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the computerized telephone toll records under Rule 803(6).
- The court rejected the argument that admissibility required proof of monthly error checks; differences in the extent of error testing generally affect weight, not admissibility.
- The court indicated that even if there were a foundational defect, any error would likely be harmless in light of other evidence supporting the conspiracy convictions.

## Legal Principles

- Computer-generated records may qualify as business records under Federal Rule of Evidence 803(6) when a qualified witness shows they are made and kept as part of a regularly conducted business activity and regular practice.
- The proponent need not prove a computer system is flawless or establish any single mandatory error-checking regimen; the foundation must show the records are reliably produced and maintained in ordinary business operations.
- Prior cases describing particular testing practices do not create minimum admissibility requirements for Rule 803(6).
- Even when Rule 803(6) elements are satisfied, records may be excluded if the method or circumstances of preparation indicate a lack of trustworthiness; speculative attacks on possible error, without case-specific unreliability, are generally insufficient.

## Conclusion

The Seventh Circuit upheld the admission of computerized telephone toll records as business records because the custodian’s testimony established routine creation, maintenance, and sufficient reliability of the system; Rule 803(6) did not require proof of monthly error testing, and the convictions were affirmed.


United States v. Briscoe, 896 F.2d 1476 (7th Cir. 1990)