Audio recordings

The five gates, for this item type

Neutral education — each gate runs separately, and passing one is never presented as admissibility. The Five Gates page carries the full statutory walk.

• Relevance

  A recording matters when what was said bears on an issue — but relevance is the LAST question here; lawfulness comes first.

• Authentication

  Expect questions about who is speaking, when and how the recording was made, and whether it is complete and unaltered.

• Hearsay

  Recorded statements are out-of-court statements — the same layer analysis as a text thread, spoken.

• Best evidence

  Keep the original file and the device that made it; a clipped excerpt invites the completeness objection.

• Privilege

  Recording a privileged conversation does not un-privilege it.

The organizer checklist

Generic, neutral, and yours to select from — organization, never legal acts. The Evidence Organizer is where the log lives.

• ▪Before recording anything: read the consent rule and talk to a lawyer
• ▪If a recording already exists: do not send, post, or file it before counsel reviews it
• ▪Preserve the original file and device; note date, place, and participants
• ▪Never record calls or conversations you are not a party to
• ▪Log the item's existence in the Evidence Organizer — counsel decides its use

Objections to expect — as education

• Lack of authenticationThe objection says nobody has shown the item is what it claims to be — the condition precedent the statute states in one sentence..
• HearsayThe objection says the item is an out-of-court statement offered to prove what it asserts.
• Completeness (§ 90.108)The objection says a partial writing or recording misleads without its context — and the statute lets the other side require the rest to come in with it..