Which factor is a determinant of a reasonable search?

• A. The number of documents involved
• B. The weather on the day of search
• C. The size of the filing cabinet
• D. The color of the binder

Answer: (A)

Reasonable search is judged by how the search effort stacks up against the amount of material to be checked. The number of documents involved directly determines how long and what kind of search is needed, so it’s the key factor in deciding whether the search is reasonable. The weather, the size of a filing cabinet, or the binder’s color don’t affect the scope or effort required to locate relevant documents, so they don’t inform whether the search is reasonable.