On 2/27/07, Calovich, Lori <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Under the Best Evidence Rule, is retention of the original document still required, or, does an electronic copy of the original suffice?  Example, Contracts-if they are scanned and maintain in a Contract Management System, do we need to keep the original paper copy as well?

there is no one right answer to this question. In general terms if
your organization decides to destroy hard copy records after scanning
that needs to be explicitly stated in a policy/procedure document. For
specific types of records such as contracts you will need to research
the laws to which your organization subject both state and federal.
There are a limited number of records that must be maintained in hard
copy format even after they have been scanned.

If you do a search of the listserv archives you will find numerous
threads from the past that have discussed this topic.
for example here is a link to a posting that Rae Cogar (how's New
Mexico) posted back in Jan 2005 concerning the admissibility of
scanned documents. While her post doesn't deal directly with your
question it will provide you with relevant information

http://lists.ufl.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0501a&L=recmgmt-l&P=1742


-- 
Peter Kurilecz CRM CA
Richmond, Va

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