Explain how the Business Records Exception to the Hearsay Rule.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The Business Records Exception to the Hearsay Rule was created in recognition of the fact that businesses have a motive for maintaining trustworthy records. Many of these records relate to small transactions that are so routine that the person who made them may not remember the incident, for example sales receipts at a grocery store. For this reason, the "record custodian" is allowed to testify about how the record is produced rather than calling the person who actually recorded the event.

The Business records Exception allows documents to be admitted in federal court that meet the criteria in Federal Rule 803(6):
(A) the record was made at or near the time by—or from information transmitted by—someone with knowledge;
(B) the record was kept in the course of a regularly conducted activity of a business, organization, occupation, or calling, whether or not for profit;
(C) making the record was a regular practice of that activity;
(D) all these conditions are shown by the testimony of the custodian or another qualified witness, or by a certification that complies with Rule 902(11) or (12) or with a statute permitting certification; and
(E) neither the source of information nor the method or circumstances of preparation indicate a lack of trustworthiness.