The purpose of this paper is to provide the computer professional with an overview of how the courts deal with computer output. What happens if a consumer challenges Sears’ computer records and demands physical invoices and descriptions of specific merchandise beyond price and department? Are computer records sufficient for Hertz to show that an allegedly stolen car had not been rented?

The authors summarize the basic concepts related to computer evidence: (1) the Hearsay Rule, (2) the Shop-Book Rule, and (3) the Best Evidence Rule. However, many major leading cases are omitted and the bibliography is not comprehensive.

The paper gives the layman an overview of the rules governing computer evidence. Unfortunately, these basic concepts are not illustrated with case examples. The rest of the discussion presents a guide to ensure that computer evidence will be admissible in court should that become necessary. But the guide is too restricted. Trustworthiness, which applies to all business records, is treated too briefly, audit trails are not mentioned, and security considerations, according to the authors, are beyond the paper’s scope. The real problem is proving that no one falsified or had the opportunity to tamper with the records, and proving adequate program documentation and controls. The controls include accounting, hardware, software, and human safeguards.

The background legal discussion overemphasizes differences in state law at the expense of generalized legal theory. The guide for implementation is short on concrete suggestions. While the authors present no new solutions, they do present an accurate discussion of a very important and serious problem facing all who deal with administrative data.