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North Dakota Supreme Court hears challenge over use of partial surveillance clips in theft case
Summary
The state Supreme Court considered whether a trial court erred by allowing short surveillance clips and related witness testimony when the full recording was not preserved, with the defense arguing the clips functioned as an inadmissible summary and the state urging affirmation of the lower court.
The North Dakota Supreme Court heard arguments in State of North Dakota v. Jason Leingang over whether the district court erred by admitting brief surveillance clips and related testimony at trial, defense attorney Kira Krauspar told the court.
Krauspar told the justices the disputed evidence came from an automatic two‑minute surveillance recording of a lot where a vehicle theft occurred. Defense counsel said law enforcement viewed the full recording but did not preserve it; the state produced short excerpts to play to a jury. "This is the guy, that took this vehicle on these 4 second clips," Krauspar said, summarizing how the prosecution relied on the excerpts and witness testimony to identify the defendant.
Krauspar urged the court to reverse, arguing the partial clips and the testimony about the unseen portions violated the North Dakota Rules of Evidence' best‑evidence and authentication provisions (Rule 1002 and related rules). She said the two short clips functioned as summaries of the roughly two‑minute recording rather than true duplicates, and that without the original the jury could not place the excerpts in context. She also highlighted an asserted pattern in the jurisdiction of law enforcement viewing but not collecting surveillance footage and said negligence in preserving potentially exculpatory material should affect admissibility.
The defense framed the problem as twofold: first, Rule 1002 requires the original recording when the contents are at issue; second, summaries or edited excerpts can be inadmissible under Rule 1006 (and related authenticity rules) when they prevent the jury from assessing the full recording. Krauspar warned about the growing importance of authentication as automated recordings proliferate and deepfakes become more plausible, saying the rules were designed to ensure a witness with firsthand knowledge can authenticate what a recording shows.
State counsel Justin Schwarz told the court the situation was different from the defense's depiction. Schwarz said the prosecution had preserved portions of the recording and played approximately 30 seconds of clips — less than the original but not merely testimonial summary. He told the court those clips were independent pieces of evidence that the jury could view and evaluate. "I would ask that the court affirm the ruling of the district court," Schwarz said.
Schwarz and the district court relied in part on the court's prior decision in State v. Schmidt, which the state argued provides useful guidance for situations in which a surveillance recording was not fully preserved but portions are available for the jury. Schwarz also cited Rule 1004 as a doorway for testimony about recordings that are not preserved when there is no showing of bad faith in loss of the evidence.
The justices questioned counsel about whether the clips were authentic duplicates of the original, whether they functioned as summaries, and whether the district court had considered the correct rules in weighing prejudice and admissibility. At one point a justice asked whether the defense's objection was to the clips themselves or to the testimony about portions of the video the jury had not seen; counsel and the court discussed Rule 1003 (duplicates), Rule 1004 (other evidence of content), and Rule 1006 (summaries) and how each might apply.
No decision was announced at argument. The court heard rebuttal from Krauspar, who argued the district court misapplied Schmidt and failed to analyze the admissibility under the best‑evidence and related rules. The matter was submitted for decision.
The case raises evidentiary questions state courts increasingly face as more evidence originates from automated surveillance: how to authenticate recordings, when edited excerpts may be treated as summaries, and when failure to preserve original media affects admissibility. The Supreme Court's forthcoming opinion will determine whether the district court's ruling was an abuse of discretion in this instance.
