MBE Rules · Evidence
Rule of completeness
FRE 106
The rule
If a party introduces all or part of a writing or recorded statement, an adverse party may require the introduction, at that time, of any other part or any other writing or recorded statement that in fairness ought to be considered contemporaneously. As amended in 2023, the completing evidence is admissible over a hearsay objection to the extent needed to place the original portion in context.
In plain English
Prevents misleading snippets by letting the opponent immediately fill in the missing context. The 2023 amendment resolved a circuit split by making clear that hearsay is not a bar to the completing portion.
How examiners test it
Prosecutor plays a partial recording of a defendant's confession that omits an exculpatory qualifier the defendant added.
Drill this rule until it can't fail you.
Vrenberg generates unlimited questions on this exact rule, tracks your mastery of it, and brings it back until it sticks.