Commonwealth v. Best, 62 N.E. 746 (Mass. 1902)

Defendant objected to the physical bullets and pictures of the bullets admitted into evidence evidence mainly because the conditions of the experiment on the test bullets were not similar to the conditions at the time of the shooting, that the barrel may have rusted between the shooting and test, and that it was fired 3 times which could have increased the leading. The court held that "We see no other way in which the jury could have learned so intelligently how that gun barrel would have marked a lead bullet fired through it, a question of much importance to the case. Not only was it the best evidence *496 attainable but the sources of error suggested were trifling. The photographs avowedly were arranged to bring out the likeness in the marking of the different bullets and were objected to on this further ground. But the jury could correct them by inspection of the originals, if there were other aspects more favorable to the defense. With reference to the bullets found in the body an expert was allowed to testify that they were marked by rust in the same way that they would have been if they had been fired through the rifle found at the farm, and that it took at least several months for the rust that he saw in the rifle to form. It is objected that these were not matters for expert testimony. We see no reason to doubt that the testimony was properly admitted."