Rule 605. Competency of Judge as Witness

Presiding Judge as Witness. The presiding judge may not testify as a witness at the trial.

No Objection Required. A party need not object in order to preserve the point, and the disqualification imposed by this rule may not be waived by consent.

Scope. This rule applies to every proceeding over which the judge presides, including a hearing, a probable cause proceeding, a grand jury session conducted under 6 R. Stat. § 131.106, and an expungement proceeding, and applies to a magistrate judge assigned or referred a matter under 3 R. Stat. § 131.203 and to a special magistrate.

A Judge Who Is a Necessary Witness. A judge who becomes aware that the judge is a necessary witness to a matter in issue shall not preside. The matter shall proceed before another judge as Rid. R. Civ. P. 45 and Rid. R. Crim. P. 39 provide. A judge who so withdraws is competent to testify in the proceeding before the succeeding judge, subject to subdivision (6).

Facts Within the Judge’s Knowledge. A presiding judge shall not supply from personal knowledge a fact which is in issue, and shall not rest a finding upon such a fact. A fact of which the court may take judicial notice is governed by Rules 201 and 202, and the parties’ right to be heard upon the propriety of judicial notice is preserved by Rule 201(4).

Judicial Deliberation Privilege. A judge who testifies, whether or not the judge presided in the proceeding in which the testimony is given, retains the absolute privilege recognized by Rule 510 to refuse to disclose the mental impressions and thought processes relied upon in reaching a decision.

Proof of Judicial Acts by the Record. What occurred before a court is proved by the record of that court, which is self-authenticating under Rule 902(1) when attested by the clerk under the court’s seal, and which may be evidenced as Rule 1005 provides. A party shall not call a judge to prove a matter which the record establishes.

Court Personnel. This rule does not disqualify a clerk, a deputy clerk, a court officer, a sheriff, or a marshal from testifying. Such a witness is subject to Rules 601 through 615 as any other witness, and the court shall consider under Rule 403 whether the witness’s office lends the testimony an undue weight.