I’m not a sir.
Let me try this a different way. First of all, we’re really saying the same thing. Audio and video evidence is considered reliable, so the courts accept it. It is, technically, hearsay, though. The law doesn’t treat it that way, but it is. Similarly, business records are considered highly reliable and are generally admissible in court. However, the rules of evidence explicitly considers business records to be hearsay, admissible under an exception specifically for business records. These days, physically, business records are just ones and zeroes stored on a hard drive somewhere, and usually created automatically by software. They are a record of something, and that record was created outside of court. Audio and video are the same. They are records of something, and that record was created out of court. The law currently doesn’t consider them to be hearsay, but technically, they are. If you disagree, you’re welcome to take it up with my Evidence professor. He still teaches Evidence at Seton Hall.
