If while testifying, a witness uses a writing or object to refresh his memory, an adverse party is entitled to have the writing or object produced at the trial, hearing, or deposition in which the witness is testifying.
Rule 2:612.WRITING OR OBJECT USED TO REFRESH MEMORY
Part Two: Virginia Rules of Evidence · Last amended 2012 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceRule 2:612 entitles an adverse party to have any writing or object a witness uses to refresh memory while testifying produced at the trial, hearing, or deposition in which the witness is testifying.
Full Text of Rule 2:612
Plain-English Summary
Rule 2:612 gives the opposing party a right to inspect the tool a witness leans on mid-testimony. If a witness, while testifying, uses a writing or object to refresh memory, the adverse party is entitled to have that writing or object produced at the same proceeding — the trial, hearing, or deposition — in which the witness is testifying.
The rule is triggered by the act of refreshing memory during testimony, not by the mere existence of a document the witness might have reviewed at some other time. Once a witness reaches for a note or object on the stand to jog recollection, the opposing party can demand production, giving that party the chance to inspect the item, cross-examine the witness about it, and potentially introduce it into evidence.
Because the rule applies across trials, hearings, and depositions alike, the production right follows the witness’s use of a memory aid regardless of which type of proceeding is underway, keeping the same transparency available whenever the technique is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
If a witness looks at notes to remember something while testifying, can the other side see those notes?
Yes. Rule 2:612 entitles the adverse party to have any writing or object the witness used to refresh memory produced at the proceeding.
Does Rule 2:612 apply only at trial?
No. The rule applies at trial, at a hearing, or at a deposition — wherever the witness is testifying and uses a writing or object to refresh memory.
Does the right to production apply to objects as well as documents?
Yes. Rule 2:612 covers both a writing and an object used to refresh a witness’s memory, not documents alone.
What triggers the right to have the memory aid produced?
The witness’s use of the writing or object to refresh memory while testifying. Rule 2:612 does not apply to a document the witness merely reviewed before testifying and did not use on the stand.
Once produced, what might the adverse party do with the writing or object?
Rule 2:612 does not itself dictate the next steps, but production allows the adverse party to inspect the item and use it in cross-examining the witness.
Amendment History
Adopted and promulgated by Order dated June 1, 2012; effective July 1, 2012.
Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia, published by the
Supreme Court of Virginia. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: refreshing witness memory virginiaproducing notes used by witness virginiarule 2:612 virginia evidencewriting used to refresh recollectionadverse party right to inspect witness notes