State v. Crawley, 217 N.C. App. 509

Defendant Shannon Crawley was indicted for the first-degree murder of Denita Smith in Durham County in 2007.
Trial began 8 February 2010 in Durham County Superior Court before Judge Ronald Stephens with a jury verdict of guilty.
Evidence showed a gunshot wound to the head and a burgundy SUV linked to Crawley by a witness at Campus Crossings.
Cell phone records and mapping tied Crawley and Officer Stroud to calls near Durham/Greensboro around the date of the killing.
Defendant gave inconsistent statements to investigators about the events and alleged involvement of Officer Stroud, who later faced separate allegations.
Defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; she timely appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Authentication of cell phone records	Harger authenticated Sprint/Nextel records as custodian.	Records were not properly authenticated because Harger did not provide the records and questioned their source.	Sufficient circumstantial authentication supported; harmless error if any.
Judicial review of deliberation materials	Deliberation materials were properly admitted for jury consideration.	New materials on CDs were not presented to the jury with proper foundation; violated Sixth Amendment rights to counsel.	Waived; no reversal due to lack of a motion to reopen for rebuttal.

State v. Owen, 130 N.C. App. 505 (1998) (authenticity and foundation for admissibility of documents reviewed de novo)
State v. Springer, 283 N.C. 627 (1973) (electronic business records admissible if proper foundational testimony shown)
State v. Wilson, 313 N.C. 516 (1985) (circumstantial evidence can authenticate records; not necessary to prove authorship)
State v. Ferguson, 145 N.C. App. 302 (2001) (harmless error rule for evidentiary error)
State v. Wiggins, 334 N.C. 18 (1993) (credibility and weight of testimony for the jury; court decides admissibility)