(a) Summaries of Voluminous Materials Admissible as Evidence. The court may admit as evidence a summary, chart, or calculation offered to prove the content of voluminous admissible writings, recordings, or photographs that cannot be conveniently examined in court, whether or not they have been introduced into evidence.
(b) Procedures. The proponent must make the underlying originals or duplicates available for examination or copying, or both, by other parties at a reasonable time and place. And the court may order the proponent to produce them in court.
(c) Illustrative Aids Not Covered. A summary, chart, or calculation that functions only as an illustrative aid is governed by Rule 107.
Notes
(Pub. L. 93–595, §1, Jan. 2, 1975, 88 Stat. 1946; Apr. 26, 2011, eff. Dec. 1, 2011.)
Notes of Advisory Committee on Proposed Rules
The admission of summaries of voluminous books, records, or documents offers the only practicable means of making their contents available to judge and jury. The rule recognizes this practice, with appropriate safeguards. 4 Wigmore §1230.
Committee Notes on Rules—2011 Amendment
The language of Rule 1006 has been amended as part of the restyling of the Evidence Rules to make them more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules. These changes are intended to be stylistic only. There is no intent to change any result in any ruling on evidence admissibility.
Committee Notes on Rules—2024 Amendment
Rule 1006 has been amended to correct misperceptions about the operation of the rule by some courts. Some courts have mistakenly held that a Rule 1006 summary is “not evidence” and that it must be accompanied by limiting instructions cautioning against its substantive use. But the purpose of Rule 1006 is to permit alternative proof of the content of writings, recordings, or photographs too voluminous to be conveniently examined in court. To serve their intended purpose, therefore, Rule 1006 summaries must be admitted as substantive evidence and the rule has been amended to clarify that a party may offer a Rule 1006 summary “as evidence.” The court may not instruct the jury that a summary admitted under this rule is not to be considered as evidence.
Rule 1006 has also been amended to clarify that a properly supported summary may be admitted into evidence whether or not the underlying voluminous materials
reflected in the summary have been admitted. Some courts have mistakenly held that the underlying voluminous writings or recordings themselves must be admitted into evidence before a Rule 1006 summary may be used. Because Rule 1006 allows alternate proof of materials too voluminous to be conveniently examined during trial proceedings, admission of the underlying voluminous materials is not required and the amendment so states. Conversely, there are courts that deny resort to a properly supported Rule 1006 summary because the underlying writings or recordings—or a portion of them—have been admitted into evidence. Summaries that are otherwise admissible under Rule 1006 are not rendered inadmissible because the underlying documents have been admitted, in whole or in part, into evidence. In most cases, a Rule 1006 chart may be the only evidence the trier of fact will examine concerning a voluminous set of documents. In some instances, however, the summary may be admitted in addition to the underlying documents.
A summary admissible under Rule 1006 must also pass the balancing test of Rule 403. For example, if the summary does not accurately reflect the underlying voluminous evidence, or if it is argumentative, its probative value may be substantially outweighed by the risk of unfair prejudice or confusion.
Consistent with the original rule, the amendment requires that the proponent of a Rule 1006 summary make the underlying voluminous records available to other parties at a reasonable time and place. The trial judge has discretion in determining the reasonableness of the production in each case but must ensure that all parties have a fair opportunity to evaluate the summary. Cf. Fed. R. Evid. 404(b)(3) and
807(b).
Although Rule 1006 refers to materials too voluminous to be examined “in court” and permits the trial judge to order production of underlying materials “in court,” the rule applies to virtual proceedings just as it does to proceedings conducted in person in a courtroom.
The amendment draws a distinction between summaries of voluminous admissible information offered to prove a fact, and illustrations offered solely to assist the trier
of fact in understanding the evidence. The former are subject to the strictures of Rule 1006. The latter are illustrative aids, which are now regulated by Rule 107.