In a decision that appears to shed some light on how thoroughly digital evidence must be authenticated before it’s admissible, a New Jersey administrative law judge has barred introduction of electronic evidence by the state after witnesses from Prudential were unable to explain how that data was gathered.

Administrative Law Judge Barry Moscowitz ruled on Aug. 29 that the commissioner of Banking and Insurance could not admit into evidence audio recordings of calls allegedly made by John Savadjian while he was an agent for Prudential.