Article X – Contents of Writings, Recordings, and Photographs

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article of the Federal Rules of Evidence

Article X – Contents of Writings, Recordings, and Photographs is the section of the Federal Rules of Evidence that governs how the contents of documents, recordings, and photographs must be proved in court, including the so‑called “best evidence” rules.

Statements (45)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	article of the Federal Rules of Evidence →
addresses	proof of contents by testimony or written admission of a party → public records proved by copies → summaries to prove contents of voluminous writings →
allocates	roles of judge and jury in determining fulfillment of best evidence requirements →
alsoKnownAs	Best Evidence Rules →
appliesIn	civil proceedings in United States federal courts → criminal proceedings in United States federal courts →
appliesTo	audio recordings → digital photographs → electronic documents → film photographs → handwritten documents → printed documents → video recordings →
authorityType	procedural rule →
defines	terms related to writings, recordings, and photographs →
governs	proof of contents of photographs → proof of contents of recordings → proof of contents of writings →
includes	Federal Rule of Evidence 1001 → Federal Rule of Evidence 1002 → Federal Rule of Evidence 1003 → Federal Rule of Evidence 1004 → Federal Rule of Evidence 1005 → Federal Rule of Evidence 1006 → Federal Rule of Evidence 1007 → Federal Rule of Evidence 1008 →
jurisdiction	United States federal courts →
legalField	evidence law →
partOf	Federal Rules of Evidence →
primaryConcept	best evidence rule →
promulgatedBy	United States Supreme Court →
providesException	admission of duplicates under certain conditions → admission of secondary evidence when originals are unavailable for certain reasons →
requires	use of original writing to prove its contents subject to exceptions →
setsOut	requirements for proving contents of documents → requirements for proving contents of electronic recordings → requirements for proving contents of photographs →
subjectMatter	admissibility of copies → collateral matters and best evidence → loss or destruction of originals → opponent’s control of originals → originals and duplicates of writings → unobtainable originals →

Referenced by (2)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Federal Rules of Evidence →	containsArticle
Article IX – Authentication and Identification →	relatedTo