Rule 201. Judicial Notice of Adjudicative Facts
(a) Scope of rule.
This rule governs only judicial notice of adjudicative facts.
(b) Kinds of facts.
A judicially noticed fact must be one not subject to reasonable
dispute in that it is either (1) generally known within the territorial
jurisdiction of the trial court or (2) capable of accurate and ready
determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably
be questioned.
(c) When discretionary.
A court may take judicial notice, whether requested or not.
(d) When mandatory.
A court shall take judicial notice if requested by a party and
supplied with the necessary information.
(e) Opportunity to be heard.
A party is entitled upon timely request to an opportunity to
be heard as to the propriety of taking judicial notice and the tenor
of the matter noticed. In the absence of prior notification, the
request may be made after judicial notice has been taken.
(f) Time of taking notice.
Judicial notice may be taken at any stage of the proceeding.
(g) Instructing jury.
In a civil action or proceeding, the court shall instruct the
jury to accept as conclusive any fact judicially noticed. In a criminal
case, the court shall instruct the jury that it may, but is not
required to, accept as conclusive any fact judicially noticed.
Lent v. Cal. Coastal Comm'n, 62 Cal.App.5th 812, 854 (Cal. Ct. App. 2021)
“While we may take judicial notice of ... official acts of state agencies [citation], the truth of matters asserted in such documents is not subject to judicial notice." ( Arce v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (2010) 181 Cal.App.4th 471, 482, 104 Cal.Rptr.3d 545 ; see Guarantee Forklift, Inc. v. Capacity of Texas, Inc. (2017) 11 Cal.App.5th 1066, 1075, 218 Cal.Rptr.3d 454.)
[Lent v. Cal. Coastal Comm'n, 62 Cal.App.5th 812, 854 (Cal. Ct. App. 2021)]
[EDITORIAL: Public records maintained by government agencies are admissible as evidence under Federal Rule of Evidence 803(8). However, the truth of what is in them is not established by the record. That must still be proven. Search for the phrase "judicial notice truth of matter asserted" in case databases for more on this subject.]
S. E. Overton Co. v International Brotherhood of Teamsters, etc. (1953,
DC Mich) 115 F Supp 764, 32 BNA LRRM 2614, 24 CCH LC P 67803
District court takes
judicial notice of any federal laws brought into operation by allegations
of complaint.
7 ALR Fed 921.
Federal or state law as governing federal court's authority,
in diversity action after Erie R. Co. v Tomkins, to take judicial
notice of law of sister state or foreign country.
[7 ALR Fed 921]
OVERVIEW OF JUDICIAL NOTICE
1. A court may take judicial notice of a fact of common knowledge.
The fact must be one not subject to reasonable dispute because it
is either (1) generally known within the territorial jurisdiction
of the trial court or (2) capable of accurate and ready determination
by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.
Courts also may take judicial notice of laws. Judicial notice may
be taken by any court at any stage of the proceedings. The judge
usually must give the parties notice and an opportunity to object
before taking judicial notice.
2. Procedure
(A) If a party knows in advance that it will
request judicial notice, that request should be made in a pre-trial
motion with supporting documents attached and reasonable notice
to the opposing party.
(B) If judicial notice is unanticipated,
a request may be made for the first time during trial. The party
requesting notice must supply the judge with the necessary information.
(C) Before taking judicial notice, the judge should notify the
parties before taking judicial notice, give them an opportunity
to be heard, and hold a hearing.
3. Rule 201 provides that the court must take judicial
notice if it is requested by a party and if that party supplies
the court with the necessary information.
4. Conclusive Effect of Judicial Notice
(A) Civil cases.
Under Rule 201(g), any fact judicially noticed in a civil action
is conclusive. Contrary evidence will not be admitted.
(B)
Criminal cases. In a criminal case, a judicially noticed
fact is merely presumed to be true and the adverse party may introduce
evidence contradicting it. States are split on whether the State
may rely solely on judicial notice to prove an essential element
of a criminal charge. Usual context -- added criminal penalty for
selling drugs within 1000 feet of a school, judicial notice that
the building called Rogers School is in fact a school.
5. Facts of Common Knowledge. A court may
take notice of reasonably indisputable facts of common and general
knowledge within its jurisdiction, including facts of public record,
e.g., that a building called Howe Military Institute was a "school,"
who is a county commissioner). Facts within the personal knowledge
of the trial judge are not appropriate subjects for judicial notice
unless they are also facts of common knowledge.
6. Scientific Facts
(A) In general. Courts will take
notice of matters of science which are reasonably indisputable.
E.g., a vehicle traveling 40 m.p.h. covers 60 feet per
second. If a scientific fact is complicated, the court can hear
expert testimony before taking notice. Courts must be careful to
distinguish facts of common knowledge from scientific facts in determining
whether a particular fact is subject to "reasonable" dispute. If
a matter of basic science is generally accepted within the scientific
community, it should be noticed, even though some segments of the
general public may disagree with it. A scientific fact is not
reasonably disputed if the disagreement with it stems from
fear, ignorance or religion. An example of the potential confusion
is Weeks v. Scott on page 855 in which the court erroneously
refused to take judicial notice of ways in which the AIDS virus
is transmitted because of a widespreadpublic belief that
science did not know the answer.
(B) Reliability of scientific evidence. For purposes
of satisfying the foundation requirement of Rule 702(b) that scientific
evidence be reliable, the court may take judicial notice that a
well-established scientific test or principle is reliable.
(C) Mathematical calculations. A court may take notice
of basic mathematic equations, such as how to calculate the area
of a circle, and then perform those calculations.
7. Facts in reference books, dictionaries and encyclopediae may
be noticed. These are called "readily verifiable" facts.
8. Notice of Law. Courts may notice four categories of law:
(a) Case law, statutes and constitutional provisions.
(b) Rules
of court, such as the R. Civ. P.
(c) Published regulations of
government agencies.
(d) Codified municipal ordinances. However,
uncodified ordinances may not be noticed according to pre-Rules
cases.
The court may notice state or federal law from any jurisdiction
within the United States. However, the courts do not take judicial
notice of the laws of foreign countries.
9. Court Records. The courts may take notice of the pleadings,
filings, and other content of the record in the present case. .
Notice may not be taken of the records from other cases, even on
a related subject with related parties. For example, post-conviction
relief hearings and probation revocations are considered separate
proceedings from the original criminal case, so the court cannot
take notice of the records from the original prosecution.
10. Judicial Notice Other Than at Trial. Judicial notice may
be taken by any court at any stage of the proceedings, e.g., on
appeal.