Abstract
This Comment analyzes Wisconsin’s application of the business records exception when a litigant seeks the admission of third-party records. In 2010, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, in Palisades Collection LLC v. Kalal, applied a narrow interpretation of the exception’s requirements that stands in contrast to manner in which federal jurisdictions apply the exception in the same context. This Comment addresses the question of whether Wisconsin’s narrower construction of the exception is the best approach to the evidentiary rule. In doing so, this Comment first reviews the federal business record exception, its requirements, and federal courts’ treatment of the foundational requirement for third-party records. This Comment then does the same for the Wisconsin exception, discussing the challenges and harms created by Wisconsin’s narrow approach. Finally, it suggests that Wisconsin adopt an approach similar to that of a growing number of federal courts.
Repository Citation
Bryan Whitehead,
Expanding Wisconsin's Approach to the Business Records Exception,
98 Marq. L. Rev. 1505
(2015).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/mulr/vol98/iss3/11