Elizabeth Fairfax here again.
The feceral government and rules of evidence issues aside, this may depend
on the specific public records jurisdiction one falls into. Some states and
the records of local agency records within it, mine included (Washington),
are enjoined from arbitrarily disposing of records that the State Archives
has scheduled as archival. If the images do not conform to the standards set
by the state archivist here, the paper records are still especially valuable
from a historic point of view as the images may not contain ALL the
information in the originals--depending on age of the records, quality of
the paper and contrast etc. Density is an issue if a record is large and
does not bear very close scrutiny on blow-back because of missing detail or
fuzzy images. The original in such a case may need to be consulted if it is
still available.
-----Original Message-----
From: Roach, Bill J. [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2006 1:36 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [RM] Retention of hardcopy after documents have been imaged
>>Has there been any US Federal decision on disposing of hardcopy
records after the documents have been imaged?<<
The more important question is whether there has been the need to make a
decision regarding disposal of paper documents after imaging. I am certain
there have been a few. On the other side of the coin, images of documents
have been produced on court for years without the need for a decision.
(Standard disclaimer: I am not an attorney, get a competent one and ask him
the question.)
Outside of the archival environment, when was the last time someone
microfilmed documents and retained the paper, rarely if ever. Electronic
images are addressed in the exact same rules as microfilm. See Rules of
Evidence 1001, 1002, 1003 and 1004.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/rules.htm#Rule1001
Pay particular attention to the language in item 1 of Rule 1004: "Rule 1004.
Admissibility of Other Evidence of Contents The original is not required,
and other evidence of the contents of a writing, recording, or photograph is
admissible if--
(1) Originals lost or destroyed. All originals are lost or have been
destroyed, unless the proponent lost or destroyed them in bad faith; or
(2) Original not obtainable. No original can be obtained by any available
judicial process or procedure; or
(3) Original in possession of opponent. At a time when an original was under
the control of the party against whom offered, that party was put on notice,
by the pleadings or otherwise, that the contents would be a subject of proof
at the hearing, and that party does not produce the original at the hearing;
or
(4) Collateral matters. The writing, recording, or photograph is not closely
related to a controlling issue."
According to the rule, you can destroy the originals as long as you do it in
good faith.
Bill R
Bill Roach, CRM
Enterprise EDMS Coordinator
State of North Dakota
ITD/Records Management
701-328-3589
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