Under the original document rule, a duplicate is admissible to the same extent as the original.

Under the original document rule, a duplicate is admissible to the same extent as the original.

• A. It requires authentication of the duplicate.
• B. It is admissible to the same extent as the original.
• C. It is admissible only if the original is lost.
• D. It is never admissible.

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that under the original document rule, a duplicate is treated as equally admissible as the original. This means a copy—like a photocopy, scanned image, or carbon copy—can prove the same contents and terms as the original document, so long as it is a true and accurate duplicate. The key caveat is that this equivalence holds unless a genuine question is raised about the original’s authenticity or admitting the duplicate would be unfair or misleading. In practice, authentication of the writing as a whole is still required, but a duplicate doesn’t need separate, special authentication just because it’s a duplicate, as long as there isn’t a challenge to its authenticity. The option that a duplicate is admissible only if the original is lost isn’t correct, because duplicates are generally admissible regardless of the original’s availability, and the option that a duplicate is never admissible is plainly wrong.

The main idea is that under the original document rule, a duplicate is treated as equally admissible as the original. This means a copy—like a photocopy, scanned image, or carbon copy—can prove the same contents and terms as the original document, so long as it is a true and accurate duplicate. The key caveat is that this equivalence holds unless a genuine question is raised about the original’s authenticity or admitting the duplicate would be unfair or misleading. In practice, authentication of the writing as a whole is still required, but a duplicate doesn’t need separate, special authentication just because it’s a duplicate, as long as there isn’t a challenge to its authenticity. The option that a duplicate is admissible only if the original is lost isn’t correct, because duplicates are generally admissible regardless of the original’s availability, and the option that a duplicate is never admissible is plainly wrong.