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Question
In a civil action to collect a loan evidenced by a written promissory note, the original note was destroyed in a flood. Plaintiff offers a printout of an email thread between the borrower and lender that references the loan terms and contains the borrower’s acknowledgment. The printout is not authenticated. The defendant objects on the ground that this violates the best evidence rule. (a)Identify the governing doctrine of Liberal Construction of the Rules on Evidence and its operative scope. (b)Under liberal construction, and given the loss of the original and the proffered secondary evidence, should the printout be admitted as secondary evidence? Explain the conditions that must be satisfied for admissibility, including authentication or corroboration requirements. (c)If the printout is admitted, what safeguards should the court require to ensure reliability and fairness? Support your analysis with the controlling rule and its application to the facts.