# Evidence: Best Evidence Rule

- By: Colin Miller
- Publisher: CALI's eLangdell® Press
- Source: [Open Textbook Library](https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/evidence-best-evidence-rule)
- Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
- PDF: https://www.cali.org/sites/default/files/BestEvidenceRule_Miller_Dec2014.pdf
- eBook: https://www.cali.org/sites/default/files/BestEvidenceRule_Miller_Dec2014.epub
- MS Word: https://www.cali.org/sites/default/files/BestEvidenceRule_Miller_Dec2014.docx

The Best Evidence Rule, contained in Article X of the Federal Rules of Evidence (Rules 1001-1008) and state counterparts, is a Rule that requires a party seeking to prove the contents of a writing, recording, or photograph to produce the original (or a duplicate) or account for its nonproduction. Through a series of cases and hypotheticals drawn from actual cases, this chapter gives readers a roadmap for how to address any Best Evidence Rule issue in practice. Faculty materials also available: In addition to the free, open learning materials for students listed above, this eLangdell chapter includes a teacher's manual. Faculty and staff at CALI member schools can access these materials by logging in to eLangdell with a cali.org username and password. Contact CALI.