Welch v. Keene Corp., 575 N.E.2d 766, 31 Mass.App.Ct. 157 (1991)

Welch v. Keene Corp., 575 N.E.2d 766, 31 Mass.App.Ct. 157 (1991)

Summary charts of voluminous evidence are permissible if they are accurate and fair, although "care must be taken to insure that summaries accurately [31 Mass.App.Ct. 166] reflect the contents of the underlying documents and do not function as pedagogical devices that unfairly emphasize part of the proponent's proof...." United States v. Drougas, 748 F.2d 8, 25 (1st Cir. 1984). See also Proposed Mass.R.Evid. 1006 (1980). Nearly all of the articles and publications listed on the chart were disclosed and available to the defendants prior to trial. The judge carefully instructed the jury that the visual aids were not evidence and that, as they had been permitted to take notes, they were prohibited from copying any information from the chart. There was no error. See Commonwealth v. Greenberg, 339 Mass. 557, 581-582, 160 N.E.2d 181 (1959); 5 Weinstein and Berger, Weinstein's Evidence ยง 1006 (1983).


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