Are exhibits entered into evidence or entered in evidence?

There is some uncertainty among lawyers as to whether exhibits should be entered in evidence or entered into evidence. According to the Cornell Law Review, in the 1990s, the nine Supreme Court justices were split 6-3, in favor of ‘into’. Steven Lubet, Into Evidence, 81 Cornell L. Rev. 154, 158-59 (1995), available at https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clr/vol81/iss1/4/ . However, the article quotes the director of Harvard’s trial advocacy program as saying, "Evidence is not a place into which something goes or is placed. It is a status or a state of being. A thing is either 'in evidence' or 'not in evidence'; it is not 'into evidence' or 'out of evidence."' Id. at 154, quoting Peter L. Murray, Basic Trial Advocacy 14, n.1 (1995). This makes sense to me.

Into should be used when a space is entered (“The happy family went into their new home.”); interest is expressed in something (“Michael is really into cite checking.”); or to describe change (“The home’s master bedroom was divided into three new rooms.”)

A search of both federal and state case law in Google Scholar returns 482,000 hits for the phrase, "into evidence", and 518,000 results for "in evidence". However, since 2000, there have been 210 decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States using, "into evidence", and 142 decisions using "in evidence".

Rules for the Redaction of Trial Transcripts

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure set down specific guidelines for the redaction of trial transcripts. The following information must be redacted from a transcript:

1. Social security numbers (the last four digits can be left unredacted).

2. Birth dates (the year can be left unredacted).

3. The names of minor children (initials can be used).

4. Financial account numbers (the last four digits can be left unredacted).

See, Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2(a). The parties have 7 days from the filing of the notice of the filing of the official transcript to file a notice to request the redaction of these four types of information from the transcript. A copy of the notice must be served on the reporter. See the example posted on the site of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

A statement indicating what is to be redacted must be filed 21 days after this notice. Guidelines posted to the sites of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina and United States District Court for the District of Colorado indicate that statements should contain references in this form:

Social Security Number 123-45-6789 on page 12, line 9 should be redacted to read xxx-xx-6789.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has posted a form on its site which breaks the information down in a chart:

If the parties wish to redact any other information, they must file a motion to do so within the same 21 day period. After an order has been issued for further redactions, the reporter then performs the redactions by the date stated in the order. The redacted version of the transcript (or the original if no redactions are performed) is released on PACER after 90 days. Only attorneys who pay for transcripts, and court users can have access to the transcript before this 90-day period is up, unless the public terminal at the courthouse is used to view the transcript.

Some courts restrict access to the transcript of the voir dire proceeding in order to avoid the need to request the redaction of the personal information of jurors.

Pretrial Rule 17(c) Subpoenas

Rule 17(c) subpoenas are used in criminal cases to obtain business records from third parties. See, Fed. R. Crim. P. 17(c). Most jurisdictions require the documents to be both admissible at trial, and specifically described in the subpoena. The Supreme Court has ruled that Rule 17(c) should not be considered a form of discovery. See, Bowman Dairy Co v. United States, 341 U.S. 214 (1951). Rule 17(c) subpoenas can only be used to get evidence for trials or official hearings.

The subpoena may be issued by the court. If it is issued by a party, then it will only require the appearance of a third party at the trial for the possible production of documents.