Requesting judicial notice under Rule 201 in Federal Court is the topic of this blog post.
Judicial notice can be very useful if used in appropriate situations but also has limitations as judicial notice can only be taken of certain specified adjudicative facts. Rule 201 of the Federal Rules of Evidence (Rule 201) authorizes the taking of judicial notice and also specifies which facts may be judicially noticed.
To use one example a court can take judicial notice of its own records and records of other court cases.
Rule 201 states that, “Judicial Notice of Adjudicative Facts
(a) Scope. This rule governs judicial notice of an adjudicative fact only, not a legislative fact.
(b) Kinds of Facts That May Be Judicially Noticed. The court may judicially notice a fact that is not subject to reasonable dispute because it:
(1) is generally known within the trial court’s territorial jurisdiction; or
(2) can be accurately and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.
(c) Taking Notice. The court:
(1) may take judicial notice on its own; or
(2) must take judicial notice if a party requests it and the court is supplied with the necessary information.
(d) Timing. The court may take judicial notice at any stage of the proceeding.
(e) Opportunity to Be Heard. On timely request, a party is entitled to be heard on the propriety of taking judicial notice and the nature of the fact to be noticed. If the court takes judicial notice before notifying a party, the party, on request, is still entitled to be heard.”
I want to stress that the party requesting that the court take judicial notice of certain facts must supply the court with the necessary information in support of their request and should attach copies of any exhibits that support the request for judicial notice.
Attorneys or parties that would like to view a sample request for judicial notice in United States District Court created by the author and available for FREE download in Microsoft Word format can use the link shown below.
Sample Request for Judicial Notice in United States District Court by Stan Burman on Scribd
The author of this blog post, Stan Burman, is a freelance paralegal who has worked in California and Federal litigation since 1995 and has created over 300 sample legal documents for sale.
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DISCLAIMER:
Please note that the author of this blog post, Stan Burman is NOT an attorney and as such is unable to provide any specific legal advice. The author is NOT engaged in providing any legal, financial, or other professional services, and any information contained in this blog post is NOT intended to constitute legal advice.
The materials and information contained in this blog post have been prepared by Stan Burman for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information contained in this blog post is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, any business relationship between the author and any readers. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.