The Liberalization of the Personal Knowledge Requirement For Admitting Business Records and Authenticating Evidence

Electronic evidence is replacing traditional forms of business records and paper documents. Litigators and judges are faced with the challenge of determining the authenticity and reliability of electronic data and Internet evidence. Some courts are reacting to this change by adopting a liberal approach when interpreting the personal knowledge requirement in order to authenticate evidence and to lay the foundation for admission of business records. In addition, courts are distinguishing between “computer-generated” and “computer-stored” data and finding that “computer-generated” data is not hearsay.

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