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Question 1

What is involved in the self authenticating category of certified copies of official public records?

Answer 1

Things that are filed with the public office, like land deeds, as long as you have a certified copy (certified by a custodian or person authorized to make certification, or a federal statute or rule of the SC) and a public record they are self authenticating.
ELEMENTS:
- document purports to be a copy of an official record
– certificate is attached to the copy
– certificate states the signatory is a public custodian of the official records
– certificate states the document is true and accurate copy of the original
– certificate has an authentic signature or seal

Question 2

What is the rationale for certified copies of official records being self authenticating?

Answer 2

It’s risky to remove documents from public records because they might get lost or destroyed, so this allows for copies to be used

Question 3

What should an attesting certificate that accompanies a certified copy of an official public record say?

Answer 3

“I, custodian, certified that I am a clerk of LA and the attached document is a true and accurate copy of the original in my custody.”

– Signed and sealed with the office’s seal

Question 4

What is involved in the self authenticating category of official publications?

Answer 4

This is for books, pamphlets, publications or docs that are published by a public authority and are thus taken to be authentic. Ie: IRS docs

Question 5

What should you watch out for regarding official publications as a self authenticating category of evidence?

Answer 5

The contents are not self authenticating, it just gives a way for these things to be admissible

Question 6

What is involved in the self authenticating category of newspapers and periodicals?

Answer 6

The content of a newspaper or periodical is a self authenticating only to the fact that it was inserted by the authority of the person that inserted it. If the content is offered for its truth, that is not self authenticating. An item that purports to be a newspaper is self authenticating but a story in it is hearsay

Question 7

What is involved in the self authenticating category of trade inscriptions/trademark?

Answer 7

Any inscription, sign, tag, or label purporting to have been affixed in the course of business and indicating a written, ownership, or control is self-authenticating

Question 8

What is the rationale for the self authenticating category of trade inscriptions?

Answer 8

Day-to-day reliance by the public on signs and tags and inscriptions being correct and unlikely fabricated, plus there are serious penalties for trademark infringement, so a lot of effort is made to get the public’s reliance on brand names

Question 9

What is different for the self authenticating category of trade inscriptions for California?

Answer 9

California doesn’t have this category

Question 10

What is involved in the self authenticating category of acknowledged notarized documents?

Answer 10

If a document has a certificate of acknowledgement lawfully executed by a notary public or an officer authorized to acknowledge it, it is self authenticating as long as the certificate says: the person executing the document came to the public official or notary, his identity was known to the official or he produced sufficient identification, he stated to the official that he executed the documents of his own free will

Question 11

If documents have been notarized for a partnership or a corporation, what is necessary in order for the self authenticating category of acknowledged notarized documents to apply?

Answer 11

• partnership: person must say he acknowledges the document on behalf of a partnership
  – corporation: person must say he executed the document or a fixed the corporate seal by authorization of the corporation

Question 12

What is involved in the self authenticating category of commercial paper and related documents?

Answer 12

These are self-authenticating if they have signatures on them and to the extent they are allowed by commercial law. I.e.: money or checks

Question 13

What does California say about the self authenticating category of commercial paper and related documents?

Answer 13

California doesn’t include this as a self authenticating category

Question 14

What is involved in the self authenticating category of presumption under federal statute?

Answer 14

A signature, document, or anything else that a federal statute declares is presumptively or prima facie authentic is considered to be self authenticating. It is necessary that a statute is provided for this to apply

Question 15

What is involved in the self authenticating category of certified domestic records of a regularly conducted activity?

Answer 15

The original or a copy of the record, federal statute, or supreme court all apply. Before trial, the proponent must give the adverse party reasonable written notice of his intent to offer the record and make it available for inspection so the party has a fair opportunity to challenge it

Question 16

What is involved in the self authenticating category of certified foreign records of a regularly conducted activity?

Answer 16

The original or a copy of the foreign record must be provided. Certification doesn’t have to comply with federal statute or the Supreme Court, but it must be signed in a way that if it was falsely made it would be subject to a criminal penalty in the country where the certificate is signed

Question 17

What is the rationale for making a certified foreign record of a regularly conducted activity a self authenticating category?

Answer 17

It is hard to get foreign officials to come to court to authenticate documents

Question 18

Business records would fall under what self authenticating category of evidence?

Answer 18

Either certified domestic records of a regularly conducted activity, or certified foreign records of a regularly conducted activity

Question 19

What are the things that are involved in an outline for character evidence?

Answer 19

– character evidence
– non-character purpose/mimic
– character at issue
– exceptions

Question 20

What is the FRE 404 general ban?

Answer 20

Evidence of character in any form (reputation/opinion/specific acts) is not to be used to prove that a person engaged in certain conduct or did so with a given intent on a certain occasion. You cannot use character evidence or past acts for propensity inferences.

Question 21

What does a propensity inference mean?

Answer 21

The idea that if someone acted a certain way before, they likely did it again on this occasion

Question 22

Are California and the FRE in sync about the general ban on character evidence?

Answer 22

Yes, regardless of proposition eight, because the Ewoldt decision said the re-amended California evidence code superseded proposition eight

Question 23

On an essay in evidence, what do you always start with?

Answer 23

Relevance and ask what the evidence is being offered for

Question 24

What is the formula for relevance to discuss on an essay?

Answer 24

The type of evidence plus its purpose equals what result. Need some connection between the evidence and the thing you were trying to prove/some plausible rationale why the evidence is relevant

Question 25

What is good essay wording for a 404 explanation?

Answer 25

“Under 404, character evidence in any form is not usually admissible, so evidence offered to prove an action in conformity with propensity on a particular occasion is not allowed. But under 404B, if it is past acts evidence of specific instances and offered for something other than propensity (like a MIMIC purpose) then it is admissible.”

Question 26

What is prohibited under the 404 general ban?

Answer 26

Evidence of a person‘s character/character trait to prove that on a certain occasion he acted in accordance with that character or trait

Question 27

What is the rationale for the 404 general ban?

Answer 27

This evidence has slight probative value but can be very prejudicial. Courts do not want the trier of fact to reward the “good“ man and punish the “bad“ man based on character