1. Time for an upgrade: amending the Federal Rules of Evidence to address the challenges of electronically stored information in civil litigation.
- Author
-
Moore, Jonathan L.
- Subjects
Civil procedure -- Laws, regulations and rules ,Electronic evidence -- Laws, regulations and rules ,Discovery (Law) -- Laws, regulations and rules ,Government regulation ,Federal Rules of Evidence (Fed. R. Evid. 56(f)) (Fed. R. Evid. 26(f)) - Abstract
America has undergone a radical transformation with the rise of computer technology, firmly placing modern society into the "Digital Age." (1) As a result, there has been a dramatic increase [...], In recent years, electronically stored information (ESI) has begun to play an increasingly important role in civil litigation. Although the e-discovery amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in 2006 provided guidelines for the discovery of this information, no accompanying changes were made to the Federal Rules of Evidence to govern the admissibility of this information at trial. This article outlines the vastly different ways courts have addressed this problem in three areas: authentication, hearsay, and the best evidence rule. After discussing the various approaches courts take in these areas, this article proposes specific amendments to the Federal Rules of Evidence that would provide guidance to courts and litigants as to the admissibility of electronically stored information at trial.
- Published
- 2010