Judicial notice
= procedural mechanism that allows the judge to recognize a fact as true without formal presentation of evidence
RULE 201
Types of adjudicative facts
- Notorious facts
2. Manifest facts
Notorious facts
= Generally known within the trial court’s territorial jurisdiction
Manifest facts
= Things that can be accurate and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably questioned
Procedure for judicial notice
- May be taken at any time whether or not request
- Such notice is mandatory if a party requests and supplies the court with necessary information
Direct evidence
DEFINITION
= direct proof of a factual proposition
Direct evidence
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Relies on actual knowledge
- Goes directly to a material issue without intervention of an inferential process
Direct evidence
EXAMPLE
On the issue of whether anyone had recently crossed a snow-covered bridge,
the testimony of a witness that he saw a man crossing
= direct evidence
Direct evidence
TEST
Evidence is direct when …
- the facts very in dispute
- are communicated
- by those who have
- actual knowledge
- by means of their senses
Circumstantial evidence
DEFINITION
= indirect proof
Circumstantial evidence
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Relies on inference
- Evidence of a subsidiary or collateral fact from which, alone or in conjunction with a cluster of other facts, the existence of the material can be inferred
Circumstantial evidence
EXAMPLE
On the issue of whether anyone had recently crossed a snow-covered bridge,
the testimony of a witness that he saw human footprints in the snow on the bridge
= circumstantial evidence
Testimonial evidence
= oral evidence given under oath
- Witness responds to the questions of the attorneys
Documentary evidence
= evidence in the form of a writing
- Such as a contract or a confession
Real evidence
= the term applied to evidence consisting of things as distinguished from assertions of witnesses about things
- Includes anything conveying a firsthand sense impression to the trier of fact
- Such as knives, jewelry, maps, or tape recordings
Types of burdens
- Burden of production
2. Burden of persuasion
Burden of production
2 KEY TAKEAWAYS
- You must come forward with sufficient evidence to enable a rational factfinder to find in your favor
- Otherwise, you may lose on directed verdict
Burden of persuasion
3 KEY TAKEAWAYS
- To meet this burden, the party with the burden must convince the fact-finder of the fact’s existence
- A failure to do so will mean losing the case
- The amount of evidence necessarily depends on the type of case
Presumption
DEFINITION
- Describes the relationship between two facts
1. Basic fact
2. Presumed fact - If a party proves, the basic fact = existence of the second fact is presumed to be true
Methods of rebutting a presumption
- Attack the basic fact
2. Rebut the presumption
Two results of rebutting presumption
- Bursting the bubble
2. Morgan rule
Types of presumption
- Conclusion/mandatory presumption
- Rebuttable presumption
- Permissible inference
Conclusion/mandatory presumption
EFFECT
- Once the basic fact is established
= the presumption is conclusively established - = the opposing party may not contest the presumed fact
Rebuttable presumption
EFFECT
- Once the basic fact is established = the presumed fact comes into being
= the burden shifts to the other party - The other party now has the burden of rebutting the presumption pursuant to either bursting the bubble or the morgan rule
- Failure to satisfy the burden of production in rebuttable = the presumption remains
OR - Satisfying the burden of production in rebuttable = presumption no longer exists
- Though the judge typically then instructs the jury to treat the presumption as a permissive inference
