TITLE NINE — AUTHENTICATION AND IDENTIFICATION
Rule 902. Evidence That Is Self-Authenticating
Self-Authentication. Extrinsic evidence of authenticity, as a condition precedent to admissibility, is not required with respect to the following:
Court Records Under Seal. The records and judicial proceedings of a court, if authenticated by the attestation of the clerk or other officer who has charge of the records of such court under its seal.
Domestic Official Records Not Under Seal. 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 that officer’s deputy.
Official Publications.
Copies of all statutes, acts, and resolves of the State, public or private, which are published under its authority, and copies of the ordinances of a city, the bylaws of a town, or the rules and regulations of a board of aldermen, if attested by the clerk of such city or town.
Copies of rules and regulations purporting to be issued by authority of any department, commission, board, or officer of the State or of any city or town having authority to adopt them, without certification or attestation; provided, however, that if their genuineness is questioned, the court shall require such certification or attestation thereof as it deems necessary.
Copies of books, papers, documents, and records in any department of the State of any city or town, authenticated by the attestation of the officer who has charge of the same.
Recorded Video, Capture, or GIF; Displays of Discord. A recorded video, screen recording, screen capture, or GIF is admissible and self-authenticating without the reaffirmation of a law enforcement officer.
Displays of Discord. An item offered under this paragraph which displays Discord shall, in addition, authenticate the identity of each account whose communications are displayed and are offered for the truth of what they say.
Sufficient Method. Identity is sufficiently authenticated by a reload of the Discord client performed within the same continuous recording or capture, together with a display of the Discord identifier of the account. Where the item is a still capture, the identifier shall appear in the capture or in a companion capture made in the same session and offered with it.
Not the Exclusive Method. The method stated in Rule 902(4)(b) is sufficient but is not exclusive. Identity may be authenticated by any method provided in Rule 901(2) or Rule 1108(4), and the court shall not exclude an item for want of a client reload where identity is otherwise established.
What This Paragraph Does Not Do. Self-authentication under this paragraph dispenses with extrinsic evidence of authenticity only. It does not dispense with relevance, with the rule against hearsay, with the requirement of completeness stated in Rule 1108(5), or with the duty to disclose alteration imposed by Rule 1108(6); and it does not preclude a party from offering evidence that the item is not what it purports to be.
Presumptions Created by Law. A signature, document, or anything else that a law of the State of Ridgeway declares to be presumptively or prima facie genuine or authentic.
Seal of the Supreme Court or the Superior Court. A document bearing the seal of the Supreme Court or of the Superior Court. The Clerk of the Supreme Court is the keeper of the seal of that court and affixes it upon such documents as the Supreme Court requires, as 3 R. Stat. § 121.206 provides; the Clerk of the Superior Court is the keeper of the seal of that court and affixes it upon such documents as the Superior Court requires, as 3 R. Stat. § 131.105 provides. An order, judgment, decree, summons, warrant, commission, or certificate bearing either seal requires no further authentication.
Certificate of the Clerk. A document certified by the Clerk of the Supreme Court or by the Clerk of the Superior Court, or by a deputy of either clerk, as being a true copy of a record of that court or of a filing received by that court. The Clerk of the Supreme Court takes receipt of all filings before that court and maintains them, as 3 R. Stat. § 121.205 provides; the Clerk of the Superior Court is the recorder of all official court documents within the Superior Court, the Magistrate Court, and the Administrative Courts, records all orders, judgments, and decrees, and certifies them in the manner prescribed by the rules of procedure, as 3 R. Stat. § 131.102 provides. An act of a deputy clerk authorized by and under the direction of the clerk is entitled to the same faith and credit as the act of the clerk.
Records of the Electronic Filing System. A record generated by the court’s electronic filing system and served through it, including a document as it is delivered by that system, a docket produced by that system, a notice of a filing decision, and a summons issued through that system. Such a record bears the case number assigned by the system, the Bates number assigned to the filing, and the account of record by which the filing was transmitted, and requires no further authentication. A document is not made self-authenticating by having been filed; this paragraph authenticates the record as a record of the system, and no more. Where a party disputes that a purported record is a record of the system, the court may direct the Clerk to certify the matter under Rule 902(7).
Notarial Certificates. An instrument bearing the certificate of a notary public commissioned under 3 R. Stat. §§ 311.001 through 312.205, executed in the performance of a notarial act which that commission authorizes — including an acknowledgment, an oath or affirmation, a jurat, a verification upon oath or affirmation, the witnessing or attestation of a signature, and the certification of a copy — as 3 R. Stat. § 312.101 provides.
Requisites. The certificate shall bear the official seal which every commissioned notary is required to use, containing the name of the notary as it appears on the commission, the words “Notary Public”, the words “State of Ridgeway”, and the expiration date of the commission, as 3 R. Stat. §§ 312.107 and 312.109 provide, and shall bear the signature specimen on file with the Secretary of State, as 3 R. Stat. § 312.006 requires.
Certified Copies. A copy certified by a notary as a true, correct, and complete copy of the original is self-authenticating, except where certification is prohibited by law or the matter concerns a public record which only the custodian of record may certify, as 3 R. Stat. § 312.102 provides.
Commission Expired or Revoked. An instrument is not self-authenticating under this paragraph where it appears that the seal was used after the expiration, resignation, suspension, or revocation of the commission, as 3 R. Stat. § 312.108 forbids. The instrument may be authenticated under Rule 901.
Identification of the Principal Not Established. This paragraph establishes the genuineness of the notarial certificate. It does not establish that the principal is the person the instrument names, that being a matter the notary is charged to verify under 3 R. Stat. §§ 312.104 and 312.105 and which may be contested.
Certified Records of a Regularly Conducted Activity. A record of a regularly conducted activity, including a record generated by a system described in Rule 901(2)(g), accompanied by a written certification of its custodian or of another qualified person, made under penalty of perjury, that the record was made at or near the time of the matter recorded by, or from information transmitted by, a person with knowledge; that it was kept in the course of the regularly conducted activity; and that making the record was a regular practice of that activity. Before the trial or hearing, the proponent shall give every adverse party notice of the intent to offer the record and shall make the record and the certification available for inspection, so that the party has a fair opportunity to challenge them.
Effect of Self-Authentication. Self-authentication under this rule relieves the proponent of the burden of producing extrinsic evidence of authenticity. It does not establish relevance under Rule 401, satisfy the rule against hearsay under Rule 802, dispense with Rule 403, or foreclose the admission of evidence that the item is not what it purports to be.
Rebuttal. A party against whom a self-authenticating item is offered may offer evidence that the item is not genuine, that a seal, certificate, or attestation was not made by the officer or notary it names, that a record is not a record of the system it purports to come from, or that the item has been altered. Where such evidence is offered, the question of genuineness is for the fact finder, and the item’s self-authenticating character does not remove it from the fact finder’s consideration.
Determination by the Court. Whether an item falls within a paragraph of this rule is a preliminary question for the court under Rule 104(1). Where the court determines that an item does not, the proponent may authenticate it under Rule 901.