Also known as: public record · public-record · official records · government records
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A record or statement of a public office that sets out the office's activities, a matter observed while under a legal duty to report, or factual findings from a legally authorized investigation. The exception applies in civil cases and against the government in criminal cases, subject to a trustworthiness determination by the opponent.
A record or statement of a public office that sets out the office's activities, a matter observed while under a legal duty to report, or factual findings from a legally authorized investigation. The exception applies in civil cases and against the government in criminal cases, subject to a trustworthiness determination by the opponent.
Priscilla Parks offers an NTSB accident report containing the agency's factual findings and conclusions about the cause of a plane crash. The court admits the report in her civil wrongful-death action against the manufacturer because the findings resulted from an investigation authorized by law and the opponent has not shown untrustworthiness.
Documents filed in a designated public office, such as a county recorder, that provide constructive notice of interests affecting title to real property. Recording a satisfaction piece or assignment in the public records clears or transfers encumbrances and protects subsequent parties who rely on the state of title.
Pedro Pacheco pays off his home loan in full to Pacific Bank. The bank executes a satisfaction piece but delays filing it with the county recorder. When Pedro later tries to sell the property, a title search still shows the mortgage as open, forcing him to obtain a court order compelling the bank to record the release so the public records reflect clear title.
Documents filed in a designated public office, such as a county recorder, that provide constructive notice of interests affecting title to real property. Recording a satisfaction piece or assignment in the public records clears or transfers encumbrances and protects subsequent parties who rely on the state of title.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
A newspaper seeks to publish the name of a crime victim that appeared in open-court filings. Because the information is already part of the public record, the state cannot constitutionally punish the accurate publication of that information under the First Amendment.
The prosecution offers certificates from state laboratory analysts stating that substances seized from the defendant were cocaine. The defendant objects on confrontation grounds. The certificates are not admissible as public records because they were created for the purpose of proving a fact at trial rather than for routine administrative use.
The exception reaches factual findings that include opinions and conclusions when they result from an investigation made pursuant to legal authority. The opponent may still challenge trustworthiness, but the presence of evaluative content does not automatically disqualify the record.
Yes. The professional conduct rules expressly permit a lawyer to state information contained in a public record without violating the trial publicity restriction, even if the same information would otherwise be subject to the general prohibition.
Priya Prasad represents a defendant in a high-profile fraud case. She tells reporters only that the indictment and the names of the parties appear in the publicly filed complaint. Because the information is already contained in a public record, the statement falls within the permitted disclosure under the professional conduct rules.
Pearl Porter pays off a senior mortgage on property owned by Patrick Phan after the junior lienholder refuses to do so. By operation of subrogation she steps into the senior mortgagee's shoes. She records the assignment of the mortgage in the county land records so that subsequent purchasers and lienholders have notice of her priority position.
Recording the satisfaction is necessary to remove the mortgage from the public records so that subsequent purchasers and lenders see clear title. Until the satisfaction is recorded, the mortgage continues to appear as an encumbrance even after the debt has been paid.
Recording statutes generally protect a subsequent purchaser for value who lacks actual or constructive notice from an unrecorded prior claim. The prior interest remains valid between the original parties but is subordinate to the later bona-fide purchaser who relied on the state of the public records.
…its credit, the Court's analysis of "testimony" excludes at least some hearsay exceptions, such as business records and official records. See ante , at 56. To hold otherwise would require numerous additional witnesses without any apparent gain in the truth-seeking process. Likewise to the Court's credit is its implicit…