Federal Laws & Regulations

The "Federal Rules of Evidence" (FRE) has several statements that deal with the legal admissibility of digital images.

• FRE Rule 902 (Self-authentication):
  
  "Extrinsic evidence of authenticity as a condition precedent to admissibility is not required with respect to the following:"
  
  
  Section 11:
  
  "Certified domestic records of regularly conducted activity. The original or a duplicate of a domestic record of regularly conducted activity that would be admissible under Rule 803(6) if accompanied by a written declaration of its custodian or other qualified person, in a manner complying with any Act of Congress or rule prescribed by the Supreme Court pursuant to statutory authority, certifying that the record-
  
  
  • (A) was made at or near the time of the occurrence of the matters set forth by, or from information transmitted by, a person with knowledge of those matters;
  
  
  • (B) was kept in the course of the regularly conducted activity; and
  
  
  • (C) was made by the regularly conducted activity as a regular practice.
  
  
  A party intending to offer a record into evidence under this paragraph must provide written notice of that intention to all adverse parties, and must make the record and declaration available for inspection sufficiently in advance of their offer into evidence to provide an adverse party with a fair opportunity to challenge them."
  
  
• FRE Rule 803 (Hearsay Exceptions; Availability of Declarant Immaterial):
  
  "The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule, even though the declarant is available as a witness:"
  
  Section 6:
  
  "Records of regularly conducted activity. A memorandum, report, record, or data compilation, in any form, of acts, events, conditions, opinions, or diagnoses, made at or near the time by, or from information transmitted by, a person with knowledge, if kept in the course of a regularly conducted business activity, and if it was the regular practice of that business activity to make the memorandum, report, record or data compilation, all as shown by the testimony of the custodian or other qualified witness, or by certification that complies with Rule 902(11), Rule 902(12), or a statute permitting certification, unless the source of information or the method or circumstances of preparation indicate lack of trustworthiness. The term 'business' as used in this paragraph includes business, institution, association, profession, occupation, and calling of every kind, whether or not conducted for profit.
  
  
• FRE Rule 1001 (Definitions)- Section 4:
  
  
  "A 'duplicate' is a counterpart produced by the same impression as the original, or from the same matrix, or by means of photography, including enlargements and miniatures, or by mechanical or electronic re-recording, or by chemical reproduction, or by other equivalent techniques which accurately reproduces the original."
  
  
• FRE Rule 1003 (Admissibility of Duplicates):
  
  
  "A duplicate is admissible to the same extent as an original unless (1) a genuine question is raised as to the authenticity of the original or (2) in the circumstances it would be unfair to admit the duplicate in lieu of the original."
  
  
• FRE Rule 1004 (Admissibility of Other Evidence of Contents)- Section 1:
  
  
  "The original is not required, and other evidence of the contents of a writing, recording, or photograph is admissible if-
  
  • (1) Originals lost or destroyed. All originals are lost or have been destroyed, unless the proponent lost or destroyed them in bad faith"
  
  

The United States Code (U.S.C.) states the following in Title 28, Part V, Chapter 115, Section 1732:

"If any business in the regular course of business or activity has kept or recorded any memorandum, writing, entry, print, representation or combination thereof, of any act, transaction, occurrence, or event, and has caused any or all of the same to be recorded, copied, or reproduced by any photographic, photostatic, microfilm, micro-card, miniature photographic, or other process which accurately reproduces or forms a durable medium for so reproducing the original, the original may be destroyed in the regular course of business unless its preservation is required by law. Such reproduction is as admissible in evidence as the original itself in any judicial or administrative proceeding whether the original is in existence or not."