Examining Hard Drives During Discovery

Over-stuffed file cabinets that hold business records and personal information have been replaced by compact computer hard drives that offer easy and convenient storage of and access to a variety of items, including correspondence, forms, memos, photos, account information and Internet transactions.

As a federal district court judge recently observed, a computer itself is not evidence in most cases, but merely the instrument for creating evidence (like a typewriter) or the means of storing it (like a file cabinet).

Accordingly, today's litigants routinely seek access to opponent's computer hard drive to search for discoverable evidence, especially when the opposing party may not be forthcoming about deleted or transferred files.