Chain of custody is a familiar concept in criminal law, but until recent years it was foreign to civil litigators. In the criminal law arena, police would seize evidence, seal it in a plastic bag, label it, and sign it in to a locked evidence room. If the evidence was taken out by anyone for any purpose (for example, for laboratory examination or testing) that withdrawal would be noted on the log, as would its return. The next removal from the room would likely not be until its presentation at the trial itself.

Historically, evidentiary chain of custody was rarely an issue in civil litigation. With the advent of the digital age, it has become a major issue because the actual nature of evidence in civil litigation has undergone a radical transformation — from tangible paper to electronic data.

For the complete white paper, click on the link below:

Maintaining Chain of Custody in Civil Litigation

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