(1) Upon written request from the applicant, or if ordered by the
court, the recipient of criminal process shall verify the
authenticity of records that it produces by providing an
affidavit, declaration, or certification that complies with
subsection (2) of this section. The requirements of RCW 5.45.020
regarding business records as evidence may be satisfied by an
affidavit, declaration, or certification that complies with
subsection (2) of this section, without the need for testimony
from the custodian of records, regardless of whether the business
records were produced by a foreign or Washington state entity.
(2) To be admissible without testimony from the custodian of
records, business records must be accompanied by an affidavit,
declaration, or certification by its record custodian or other
qualified person that includes contact information for the
witness completing the document and attests to the following:
(a) The witness is the custodian of the record or sets forth
evidence that the witness is qualified to testify about the
record;
(b) The record was made at or near the time of the act,
condition, or event set forth in the record by, or from
information transmitted by, a person with knowledge of those
matters;
(c) The record was made in the regular course of business;
(d) The identity of the record and the mode of its
preparation; and
(e) Either that the record is the original or that it is a
duplicate that accurately reproduces the original.
(3) A party intending to offer a record into evidence under
this section must provide written notice of that intention to all
adverse parties, and must make the record and affidavit,
declaration, or certification available for inspection
sufficiently in advance of their offer into evidence to provide
an adverse party with a fair opportunity to challenge them. A
motion opposing admission in evidence of the record shall be made
and determined by the court before trial and with sufficient time
to allow the party offering the record time, if the motion is
granted, to produce the custodian of the record or other
qualified person at trial, without creating hardship on the party
or on the custodian or other qualified person.
(4) Failure by a party to timely file a motion under
subsection (4) of this section shall constitute a waiver of
objection to admission of the evidence, but the court for good
cause shown may grant relief from the waiver. When the court
grants relief from the waiver, and thereafter determines the
custodian of the record shall appear, a continuance of the trial
may be granted to provide the proponent of the record sufficient
time to arrange for the necessary witness to appear.
(5) Nothing in this section precludes either party from
calling the custodian of record of the record or other witness to
testify regarding the record.
[2008 c 21 § 4.]