A driver who hit a pedestrian can introduce the pedestrian’s cellphone records into evidence in order to argue that the pedestrian contributed to the accident by talking on the phone, a Brooklyn judge has ruled.
Supreme Court Justice Leon Ruchelsman (See Profile) noted in his March 20 order in Miller v. Lewis, 11358/09, that there are no previous cases in New York addressing the issue of whether cellphone records can be introduced as circumstantial evidence to argue that a person was distracted at the time of an accident. The judge drew on decisions from New Jersey and Illinois that allowed the limited use of cellphone records.
