Rule 1007. Testimony or Statement of Party to Prove Content

Testimony. The proponent may prove the content of a written statement of the party against whom the evidence is offered without producing or accounting for the original.

Forms of Party Admission. Content may be proved under this rule by the testimony, deposition, or written statement of the party against whom the evidence is offered, and by that party’s admission made in a pleading, in a response to a request for admission under Rid. R. Civ. P. 26.1, in an answer to an interrogatory, in a paper filed through the electronic filing system in the same action, or in the proceeding communications.

Statements in the Proceeding Communications. A statement made by a party or by that party’s attorney of record in the proceeding communications for the case, identifying or describing the content of a writing or record, may be used under this rule against that party.

Limits. This rule permits proof of content only against the party who made the statement or admission. It does not permit proof of the content of a writing or record against any other party, and it does not dispense with relevance, with the rule against hearsay as to any statement within the writing, or with Rule 403.

Rebuttal. The party against whom content is proved under this rule may offer the original, a duplicate, or other evidence of the content, and may explain the circumstances in which the statement or admission was made.