New FRE Rule 902 Brings Self-Authentication for Electronically Stored Information Under the proposed amendment to FRE 902, which will take effect December 1, 2017, parties may authenticate electronically stored information using hash values, system registries, and other electronic means without requiring the testimony of an expert witness. This Exterro FRCP Visual Guide offers: - A comparison of the old and new Rule 902 - Expert Opinion on How this Change will Affect You

1. New FRE Rule 902
Brings Self-Authentication
for Electronically Stored
Information
VISUAL GUIDE
AN
Under the proposed amendment to FRE 902, which will take
effect December 1, 2017, parties may authenticate
electronically stored information using hash values, system
registries, and other electronic means without requiring the
testimony of an expert witness.
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THE CURRENT RULE
Self-Authentication for a Few Data Types
THE NEW AMENDED RULE (DEC 1, 2017)
Expands Self-Authentication to All Electronically
Stored Information
HOW THIS NEW RULE AFFECTS YOU
Ensure Your Data Collection Approach is Defensible
Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) Rule 902 stipulates that a limited number
of document types are self-authenticating and require no extrinsic
evidence of authenticity to be admissible at trial.
The new amendment adds two subsections to FRE 902, which allow for
self-authentication under new categories of documents.
Included
Document Types
Newly Included
Document
Types
Government
Documents
Certified Copies of
Public Records
Newspapers
Certified Business
Records
Machine-Generated Information
Defined as records “generated by an
electronic process or system that produces an
accurate result.”
Copies Taken from an Electronic Device
Defined as records “copied from an electronic
device, storage medium, or file” (including email
and other user-created records) that can be
authenticated using a document’s hash values.
Examples: Copy of an email, text message, word
document, etc. which can be proven identical via
a standardized collection method (e.g. matching
hash values)
FYI
Hash Values = Digital Fingerprint
Work with your team to fully understand if
the discovery request is asking for relevant
information and that the amount of data is
proportional to the needs of the case.
With Rule 902(14), firms will see greater benefit
in utilizing technology and services that provide a
complete binary record, hash value, and preservation
of metadata of social media posts to self-authenticate
and to show that all components of those messages—
regardless of their change or growth over time—
have been captured, ultimately providing greater
defensibility and lower e-discovery risks with
non-email content sources.
Robert Cruz
Director of Information Governance
Actiance
If you’re using defensible data collection methods
supervised by a qualified IT/E-Discovery professional,
then you won’t have to worry about getting a live
expert witness to certify the authenticity of ESI.