The business records exception requires which of the following?

• A. The record must be created at the time of the event by someone with knowledge and kept in the ordinary course
• B. It can be a police report with conclusions
• C. It must be created for the purpose of litigation
• D. It may be created by any witness

Answer: (A)

The business records exception requires that a record be made as part of the regular conduct of business, created at or near the time of the event by someone with knowledge, and kept in the ordinary course. This combination of elements protects reliability: the record reflects what actually happened, was produced by someone who knew the facts, and was maintained in the usual way the business operates.

The statement that the record must be created at the time of the event by someone with knowledge and kept in the ordinary course fits these requirements precisely, capturing both the timing and the source of information as well as the routine nature of its preservation.

Why the other ideas don’t fit: a police report isn’t typically a private business record kept in the ordinary course of a business, and it may contain conclusions rather than neutral records of acts or events; a record created solely for litigation isn’t required and may fail the “regular course of business” aspect; and the author must be someone with knowledge of the event, not just any witness.