Is a Police Sketch More Like a Writing or More Like a Photograph?

Under § 24-10-1002 of the Georgia Code, Annotated, Georgia's Best Evidence Rule, provides that

To prove the contents of a writing, recording, or photograph, the original writing, recording, or photograph shall be required.

§ 24-10-1002, however, is part of the new Georgia Rules of Evidence, which replaced Georgia's prior Evidence Code. Under § 24–5–4(a) of that Code, the Best Evidence Rule merely covered writings and did not cover recordings or photographs. So, where did that leave police sketches? Let's take a look at the recent opinion of the Supreme Court of Georgia in Boothe v. State, 2013 WL 3287139 (Ga. 2013), which was decided under Georgia's prior Evidence Code.

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