Also known as: business records · public records · business record · public record · business records exception · official records exception
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
Documents created and maintained in the ordinary course of a regularly conducted business activity. These records qualify for admission into evidence as an exception to the hearsay rule when they meet the criteria of Federal Rule of Evidence 803(6).
Documents created and maintained in the ordinary course of a regularly conducted business activity. These records qualify for admission into evidence as an exception to the hearsay rule when they meet the criteria of Federal Rule of Evidence 803(6).
After a derailment, railroad employees at Brighton Manufacturing prepare an internal report following their usual practice. The report is created mainly because litigation is anticipated. When offered at trial, the court excludes it because the primary purpose was not the regular conduct of the railroad business.
Documents created by a public agency under legal authority. These records qualify for admission into evidence as an exception to the hearsay rule when they meet the criteria of Federal Rule of Evidence 803(8).
Beacon Bank receives full payment from Belinda Baxter on her home loan. The bank executes a satisfaction document and records it in the county land records. Baxter later sells the property to a buyer who searches those records and confirms clear title before closing.
A lawyer representing Brighton Manufacturing in a product liability suit issues a press release stating only the identity of the parties and the claims involved. The statement draws solely from information already on file in the public court docket.
Documents created by a public agency under legal authority. These records qualify for admission into evidence as an exception to the hearsay rule when they meet the criteria of Federal Rule of Evidence 803(8).
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
A grand jury subpoenas financial ledgers from a law firm partnership. The partner in possession claims a Fifth Amendment privilege. The court orders production because the records belong to the entity rather than any single individual.
The record must have been made at or near the time of the event by someone with knowledge, kept in the course of a regularly conducted business activity, and it must have been the regular practice of that activity to make the record.
When the primary purpose of creating the record is litigation rather than the regular conduct of the enterprise's business, the exception does not apply even if the record follows ordinary internal procedures.
A federal safety agency issues a report after investigating a factory explosion at Blue Horizon Industries. The report contains both factual observations and the agency's conclusions about the cause. In a later civil suit, the report is offered against the government and admitted after the court finds it trustworthy.
Bright Path Foods pays off a mortgage held by another lender on property owned by Bernard Bass. The payment triggers subrogation by operation of law. Bass requests and receives a written assignment that is then recorded in the public land records to establish the new priority position.
Yes, provided the report results from an investigation authorized by law and the court determines the report is trustworthy. The exception covers both factual observations and the agency's conclusions.
…case.[^maj-6] Most of the hearsay exceptions covered statements that by their nature were not testimonial — for example, business records or statements in furtherance of a conspiracy. We do not infer from these that the Framers thought exceptions would apply even to prior testimony. Cf. Lilly v. Virginia , 527 U. S. 116, 134…