Rule 106 Remainder of or Related Writings or Recorded Statements

If one side in a case brings up part of a written document or a recording, the other side has the right to ask that the rest of it be shown or heard too, right then and there. This stops people from taking a quote or clip out of context and making it look like it means something different than it really does.

For example, if a lawyer reads one sentence from a letter to make a point, the other side can insist that other parts of that same letter be read too, if those other parts help explain the full picture. The same goes for recordings. If part of a recorded conversation gets played, the other side can ask for more of the recording to be played if it gives a fuller or fairer sense of what was actually said.

The main idea is fairness. Courts do not want juries or judges to get a false impression because they only heard a small, cherry-picked piece of something. This rule makes sure that when evidence gets used, it gets used honestly and in a way that shows the true meaning of the document or recording.