Non-Child Hearsay
Which of the following is a valid hearsay exception? Records of Irregularly Conducted Business Activity, Excited Statement, Reputation as to Character, or Spontaneous Utterance?
Reputation as to Character [90.803(21)]
This Florida Evidence Code provision says that a court must take judicial notice of Florida statutes, constitutional law, and certain rules of court.
What is Florida Statute § 90.201
Matters which must be judicially noticed.—A court shall take judicial notice of:
(1) Decisional, constitutional, and public statutory law and resolutions of the Florida Legislature and the Congress of the United States.
(2) Florida rules of court that have statewide application, its own rules, and the rules of United States courts adopted by the United States Supreme Court.
(3) Rules of court of the United States Supreme Court and of the United States Courts of Appeal.
A mother files a petition for a domestic violence injunction on behalf of her child, alleging that the child's father committed abuse. She wants to testify about what the child told her. This is the evidence statute she should consider when seeking to introduce the child's out-of-court statement.
What is Florida Statutes § 90.803(23)?
A spouse attempts to introduce a vehicle’s Kelley Blue Book valuation printout directly into evidence to prove its value. Under which specific hearsay exception can this be admissible?
Market Reports and Commercial Publications [90.803(17)]
A lawyer asks the court to judicially notice the records from a prior Florida court case. Under the Florida Evidence Code, this category of material is something the court may judicially notice.
What are records of a Florida court or other court of record?
F.S. § 90.202
Matters which may be judicially noticed. —A court may take judicial notice of the following matters, to the extent that they are not embraced within s. 90.201:
(1) Special, local, and private acts and resolutions of the Congress of the United States and of the Florida Legislature.
(2) Decisional, constitutional, and public statutory law of every other state, territory, and jurisdiction of the United States.
(3) Contents of the Federal Register.
(4) Laws of foreign nations and of an organization of nations.
(5) Official actions of the legislative, executive, and judicial departments of the United States and of any state, territory, or jurisdiction of the United States.
(6) Records of any court of this state or of any court of record of the United States or of any state, territory, or jurisdiction of the United States.
(7) Rules of court of any court of this state or of any court of record of the United States or of any other state, territory, or jurisdiction of the United States.
(8) Provisions of all municipal and county charters and charter amendments of this state, provided they are available in printed copies or as certified copies.
(9) Rules promulgated by governmental agencies of this state which are published in the Florida Administrative Code or in bound written copies.
(10) Duly enacted ordinances and resolutions of municipalities and counties located in Florida, provided such ordinances and resolutions are available in printed copies or as certified copies.
(11) Facts that are not subject to dispute because they are generally known within the territorial jurisdiction of the court.
(12) Facts that are not subject to dispute because they are capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot be questioned.
(13) Official seals of governmental agencies and departments of the United States and of any state, territory, or jurisdiction of the United States.
Under § 90.803(23), a child victim's physical, mental, emotional, or developmental age must be at or below this age for the exception to apply.
What is 17 years old?
In a modification case, the Mother wants to introduce a text message sent by the Father to his brother saying, “I’m making $20K a month cash under the table now.” The brother took a screenshot and texted the screenshot to the Mother. Can the Mother admit the screenshot over a hearsay objection?
No, Double Hearsay. The brother would need to testify.
The judge says:
“I am taking judicial notice of the entire prior family-law file.”
The attorney asks:
“Exactly what are you taking judicial notice of?”
Why is that question important?
Because judicial notice of a record does not mean every fact, allegation, statement, or piece of hearsay contained within the record is automatically admissible?
This gets directly to the Florida Supreme Court's holding in Stoll v. State, 762 So. 2d 870 (Fla. 2000), where it held that judicial notice of a court file does not result in the wholesale admission of otherwise inadmissible hearsay contained within that file. The court can judicially notice a court record while the individual contents remain subject to the ordinary rules of evidence.
During a contested timesharing case, a child tells a parent that the other parent struck the child. The statement is potentially covered by the child hearsay exception. Before admitting it, the judge must determine this.
What is whether the statement's time, content, and circumstances provide sufficient safeguards of reliability?
In a DVI hearing, a neighbor testifies that they ran outside after hearing a scream, and saw the Petitioner crying, who immediately yelled, “He just threw a fork at my head!” If the fork was thrown 15 minutes prior, does the statement better fit the Spontaneous Statement or Excited Utterance exception?
Excited Utterance. A Spontaneous Statement requires the statement to be made while perceiving the event or immediately thereafter, while an Excited Utterance merely requires the statement to be made while the declarant is still under the stress of excitement caused by the event, allowing for a longer time gap.
True or False:
“If the judge takes judicial notice of a prior court file, the judge can consider every factual assertion in that file as proven.”
What is FALSE?
Judicial notice and admissibility are separate questions. Florida Statute § 90.802 generally makes hearsay inadmissible unless an exception applies, and Stoll specifically rejects the idea that judicially noticing a court record makes all hearsay statements within that record admissible.
A child tells a therapist that Dad is mean, never helps with homework, and makes the child go to bed early. The parent offers the statement to prove the other parent is unfit. This is why § 90.803(23) does not automatically make the statement admissible.
What is that the statement does not describe a qualifying act of abuse, neglect, or other specified offense under the statute?
To prove Husband’s income, the Wife introduces a P&L statement prepared by a freelance bookkeeper specifically at the request of the Husband’s divorce attorney to use at mediation. Does this qualify as a Business Records Exception?
No. A document prepared in anticipation of litigation or specifically for mediation is not created in the regular course of business. Because it lacks the inherent reliability of daily operational records, it does not fall under §90.803(6) and remains inadmissible
A party requests judicial notice of a matter described in § 90.202 and gives the opposing party timely written notice and sufficient information for the court to identify the matter.
What is the procedure for compulsory judicial notice under § 90.203?
Compulsory judicial notice upon request.—A court shall take judicial notice of any matter in s. 90.202 when a party requests it and:
(1) Gives each adverse party timely written notice of the request, proof of which is filed with the court, to enable the adverse party to prepare to meet the request.
(2) Furnishes the court with sufficient information to enable it to take judicial notice of the matter.
The child testifies at trial but denies making an earlier statement accusing the defendant of abuse. The proponent argues that the earlier statement is automatically admissible because the child is now on the stand. This is the correct legal response.
What is no?
The child's testimony satisfies only one part of the statutory framework. The proponent must still establish the requirements for admitting the particular statement, including reliability, and the court must consider any other applicable evidentiary restrictions.