TITLE SIX — SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEEDINGS; SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS; SUPPLEMENTARY RULES
Rule 40. Proof of Official Records
Scope. This rule provides the means by which an official record, or the absence of one, may be proved in a criminal proceeding. It is supplementary to Rid. R. Evid. 902 and 1005, and does not enlarge the admissibility of any record which is inadmissible for another reason, including relevance, hearsay, and privilege.
Authentication. An official record kept within the State, or an entry therein, when admissible for any purpose, may be evidenced by an official publication thereof or by a copy attested by the officer having legal custody of the record, or by his deputy.
Attestation. An attestation under this subdivision shall be in writing, shall identify the record or entry attested, shall state that the attesting officer has legal custody of the record, and shall be signed by that officer or that officer’s deputy by username and office.
Seal. Where the record is a record of a court of this State, the attestation may be made under the seal kept by the clerk of that court, as 3 R. Stat. §§ 121.206 and 131.105 provide. The absence of a seal does not invalidate an attestation otherwise sufficient.
Oaths. An oath or affirmation required by this rule may be administered by a judge, by the clerk or a deputy clerk, as 3 R. Stat. §§ 121.204 and 131.104 provide, or by any officer authorized by law to administer oaths.
Records of the Court. A record maintained by the electronic filing system is an official record of the court.
Means of Proof. Such a record may be evidenced by a copy produced from the electronic filing system bearing the case number of the case and, where the record is a filing, the Bates number assigned to that filing.
Presumption. A copy so produced is presumed to be a true copy of the record it purports to be, and is presumed to have been made, filed, accepted, entered, or served at the times the electronic filing system records. A party contesting the presumption bears the burden of showing that the record is not what it purports to be.
Judicial Notice. The court may take judicial notice of its own docket and of the filings and orders entered upon it, as Rid. R. Evid. 201 and 202 provide.
What the System Does Not Prove. The electronic filing system does not record when a notification was read, does not verify a typed signature against the account which transmitted it, and does not validate the form or contents of a document. A record produced from the system shall not be offered to prove any of those facts.
Registers, Warrants, and Custodial Records. The executed-warrants register, the record of an entry in the in-game warrants system, a record of the law-enforcement radio, a booking record, a record of the Department of Corrections of the detention of a person, and a record of an arrest are official records within this rule, and may be evidenced as subdivision (2) provides or by the testimony of an officer having custody of the record. Rid. R. Evid. 1108 and 1109 govern the further requirements for electronic, in-game, and custodial evidence.
Lack of Record. A written statement that after diligent search no record or entry of a specified tenor is found to exist in the records designated by the statement, authenticated as provided in subdivision (2) of this rule in the case of a record of this State, or complying with subdivision (7) in the case of a record of another jurisdiction, is admissible as evidence that the records contain no such record or entry.
Contents. The statement shall identify the records searched, describe the search made, state the period covered, and state that no record or entry of the specified tenor was found.
Who May Make It. The statement shall be made by the officer having legal custody of the records searched, or by that officer’s deputy, and shall be sworn.
Notice and Objection. A party who intends to offer an official record under this rule shall make the record, the attestation, and any statement of lack of record available to every other party not later than twenty-four (24) hours before the proceeding at which it is offered. A party objecting to the authenticity of a record so made available shall state the objection in writing not later than twelve (12) hours before that proceeding, stating the ground of the objection with particularity. An objection to authenticity not so made is waived. An objection on any other ground is not waived by this subdivision and may be made when the record is offered.
Records of Another Jurisdiction. A record of the United States, of another state, or of a foreign government may be evidenced by an official publication thereof, or by a copy attested by a person authorized to make the attestation and accompanied by a certificate of the genuineness of the attestation. Where every party has had a reasonable opportunity to investigate the authenticity and accuracy of such a record, the court may for good cause admit an attested copy without a certificate of genuineness, or permit the record to be evidenced by an attested summary.
Other Proof. This rule does not prevent the proof, by any other method authorized by law, of the existence of, or the lack of, an official record, or of entry, or lack of entry therein.
Costs. The court may assess the cost of procuring an attested copy against the party requiring it, and shall not assess such a cost against an indigent defendant.