Evidence at the electronic frontier: introducing e-mail at trial in commercial litigation.

Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal, June, 2003 by Mark D. Robins

I. INTRODUCTION

Electronic mail or "e-mail" has become the very fabric of commercial litigation. Yet, despite the fact that a veritable cottage industry has sprung up to assist litigators in discovering such evidence, and an extensive body of commentary has developed concerning such discovery issues, relatively little attention has been given to admissibility of e-mail. Indeed, among reported decisions, relatively little guidance exists--particularly in the context of commercial litigation. Of course, relatively few cases proceed to trial and, in civil litigation, cases are increasingly resolved through pretrial dispositive rulings, which inevitably emphasize substantive law rather than evidentiary rules, or through alternative dispute resolution, which contributes...