Also known as:business entries · business-entry · business entry rule · business records exception
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A writing admissible under the business-records exception to the hearsay rule. The writing must be made at or near the time of the event by a person with knowledge, kept in the course of a regularly conducted business activity, and shown by the testimony of a custodian or other qualified witness to have been made as a regular practice.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Accident Report Excluded
After a derailment, Blue Horizon Industries employees prepared an internal accident summary following their standard protocol. The summary noted track conditions and crew statements but was created after the company learned that injured passengers planned to sue. At trial the railroad offers the summary to prove the cause of the derailment. The court excludes the document because its primary purpose was to prepare for litigation rather than to document ordinary business operations.
Lab Certificates Barred
In a drug prosecution, the state offers certificates from a private laboratory stating that seized substances tested positive for cocaine. The analysts who performed the tests do not appear at trial. The defendant objects that the certificates are testimonial statements. The court holds the certificates inadmissible because they were prepared for use in litigation and the defendant had no opportunity to cross-examine the analysts.
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Cases
Dictionaries
Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts129 S. Ct. 2527 (2009)
DNA Report Admitted
A forensic laboratory generates a DNA profile from crime-scene evidence as part of its routine casework. An expert later testifies that the profile matches a sample from the defendant. The defendant objects on confrontation grounds. The court admits the profile because it was produced in the ordinary course of the laboratory's business and was not created solely for the purpose of proving a fact at trial.
Williams v. Illinois567 U.S. 50 (2012)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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When does a record prepared in anticipation of litigation still qualify as a business entry?+
A record prepared in anticipation of litigation does not qualify as a business entry when its primary purpose is to assist in litigation rather than to document the regular conduct of the enterprise. Courts examine whether the business's ordinary operations would have produced the record regardless of any lawsuit.
Can a third-party statement appear inside a business record and still be admitted?+
A third-party statement inside a business record remains inadmissible unless the third party was under a business duty to report the information. The exception covers only statements made by persons engaged in the business or under a duty connected with it.
Does the business-records exception override confrontation rights in criminal cases?+
The business-records exception cannot override the Confrontation Clause when the record contains testimonial statements. A defendant must still have had a prior opportunity to cross-examine the declarant if the statement is testimonial.
567 U.S. 50 (2012)Evidence
…would entitle the defendant to Confrontation Clause protection. Cf. 2 Wigmore, Evidence §1527, at 1892 (in respect to the business records exception, “there must have been no motive to misrepresent”). Thus, the defendant would remain free to show the absence or inadequacy of the alternative reliability/honesty safeguards, thereby…