§28.01 INTRODUCTION

• Jurisdiction: North Carolina

§28.01. INTRODUCTION

Documents are generally not self-authenticating — e.g., a confession purportedly signed by the accused may not be admitted simply based on that signature. An authenticating witness must testify; the detective who obtained the confession could testify that she saw the accused sign the document. This process is known as "laying the foundation" for admissibility.

Federal Rule 901 governs the authentication of documents, the identification of real evidence, and the verification of a speaker's voice. The latter two issues are examined in chapters 26 and 27. A different rule, Rule 902, provides for the self-authentication of certain types of documents. Rule 903 makes the testimony of subscribing witnesses unnecessary unless required by the law of the appropriate jurisdiction.¹

Rule 901 deals only with authentication. A document properly authenticated under Rule 901 may nevertheless be inadmissible because it fails to satisfy the requirements of the hearsay rule² or the best evidence rule,³ or because its probative value is substantially outweighed by its prejudicial effect under Rule 403.

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Notes:

^[1] See infra §...