Electronic Mail: From Computer to Courtroom.

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Electronic Mail: From Computer to Courtroom.

AT THE CORE

THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES:

* the legal discovery, admission, and use of electronic mail as evidence

* the role of records and information professionals in the discovery process

* how records and information professionals can prevent the discovery of damaging electronic mail

New forms of records creation are being developed, implemented, and incorporated into information systems regularly. Information that was once solely documented on paper is now created and stored on tapes, disks, and drives. Print copies, once signed, sealed, and delivered, now traverse the office -- and the world -- on cables, lines, and via satellite transmissions.

Although not yet realized in practice, talk of the "paperless office" continues to permeate the rhetoric of business and technology markets. Do these changes trouble records and information managers as much as they seem to fascinate them? Records and information managers should not only be concerned, but they should be preparing for the challenges of new technologies.

One area to which records and information managers should pay special attention is the use of electronic records in the litigious context. In the past, when a corporation or business was a party to litigation, it was often forced to make the contents of its paper recordkeeping system available to the court. Paper documents were seized and the contents scoured for information relevant to the complaint in the action. If a document was of use to the court, it was often admitted into evidence.

This procedure is still the standard for procuring documentary evidence from corporations. However, with the growing reliance of the business world on electronic records and information, a new ingredient has been added to the mix. How does one seize and make use of potential evidence that is intangible or "virtual"? The same technological advances making electronic records possible are also providing the means of making use of those records in court. A nightmare of electronic incrimination may lay in ambush for the unsuspecting, unprepared records and information management professi...

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