A Federal Court of Appeals in Iowa has ruled that testimony of a Defendant's location based upon his cell phone was admissible. This opinion is relevant and important to Alabama as the Court cited similar opinions from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in which Alabama is included.
The court allowed testimony from the State's expert witness, an engineer, as to the location of the Defendant's cell phone. A radio frequency expert testified based upon the cell phone company's records that showed the vectors and the cell phone towers that were involved for every call or text message received by the Defendant's cell phone. The engineer explained he could map out the Defendant's approximate location whenever there was an incoming and outgoing transmission, which placed the Defendant in the area of the crime (murder) during relevant time periods.
The Defendant's attorney tried to exclude the testimony and claimed lack of proper foundation. The Court disagreed, allowed the testimony, and the Defendant was convicted.
In affirming the conviction, the Court stated that the records were regular business records of the company and were automatically stored on the company server when a call is created. The engineer demonstrated personal knowledge of the call detail records and how they were automatically generated - and how this procedure tied the Defendant to the pertinent facts of the crime charged.
ATTORNEY NOTE: The testimony would be admissible in Alabama state and federal courts if the prosecution offers expert testimony and lays the proper foundation.
