Reporters and Electronic Evidence

November-December 2008 JCR

By Nancy J. Hopp, RDR, CRR, CMRS

December 1, 2006, is a date that changed the world of litigation for judges and lawyers alike. You didn’t notice the earth shaking? Maybe we didn’t feel anything because those tremors are only now manifesting in the court reporting world.

On that date, amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure1 were adopted to accommodate a relatively new form of evidence not contemplated when the original rules were fi rst enacted. This rule has changed the defi nition of “original document” and established a new class of evidence, most commonly referred to as “electronically stored information,” “ESI,” or “e-discovery.” It encompasses not only document images and digital photos but also fi le formats commonly used in our everyday lives.


Posted Nov 07 2008, 02:23 PM by Serge Obolensky, CAE
Copyright 2008 National Court Reporters Association