---
title: "Build a chain-of-custody log from the capture papers"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/obligations/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents/build-a-chain-of-custody-log-from-the-capture-papers/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A44-A20260923-3-US"
practice_area: "Incoming evidence — deepfakes & synthetic documents"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Build a chain-of-custody log from the capture papers

> List each hand-off in date order from the capture notes, device logs, and transmittal messages the lawyer supplies: who held the file, when, and what was done to it. Leave a blank where a step is missing.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/obligations/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents/build-a-chain-of-custody-log-from-the-capture-papers/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Incoming evidence — deepfakes & synthetic documents](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | List each hand-off in date order from the capture notes, device logs, and transmittal messages the lawyer supplies: who held the file, when, and what was done to it. Leave a blank where a step is missing. |
| What the lawyer must review | The proponent still needs evidence sufficient under Rule 901(a), or a certification that actually meets Rule 902(13) or 902(14), including notice. A tidy log is not that showing. Do not put client media into a public tool (Model Rule 1.6; Formal Opinion 512). |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Build a chain-of-custody log from the capture papers](https://ailawframework.com/obligations/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents/build-a-chain-of-custody-log-from-the-capture-papers.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: List each hand-off in date order from the capture notes, device logs, and transmittal messages the lawyer supplies: who held the file, when, and what was done to it. Leave a blank where a step is missing.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- State courts use their own evidence rules. This version is the federal rule.
- Do not describe a gap as a broken chain. That conclusion is yours.

## Sources

- [Federal Rule of Evidence 901, Authenticating or Identifying Evidence](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/rule_901) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [Federal Rule of Evidence 902, Evidence That Is Self-Authenticating](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/rule_902) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Model Rule 1.6, Confidentiality of Information](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_6_confidentiality_of_information/) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [NSW gate before compelled or suppressed material enters a generative AI program](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents/nsw-genai-gate-compelled-material.md) | Checklist | Yellow | A gate, under Supreme Court Practice Note SC Gen 23 paragraph 9A, before subpoenaed, suppressed, or compulsion material is entered into any generative AI program, including a closed one. |
| [Letter asking that devices and native files be preserved](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/incoming-evidence-deepfakes-and-synthetic-documents/device-preservation-letter.md) | Letter | Red | Letter asking a party or a non-party to keep devices, accounts and native files so that an authenticity question can still be investigated, without claiming that the letter is a court order. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*