A self-authenticating document, under the
law of
evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, is any
document
A document is a writing, written, drawing, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of nonfiction, non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ', which denotes ...
that can be admitted into evidence at a trial without proof being submitted to support the claim that the document is what it appears to be. Several categories of documents are deemed to be self-authenticating:
#Certified copy of public or business records;
#Official publications of government agencies;
#Newspaper articles;
#Trade inscriptions, such as labels on products;
#Acknowledged documents (wherein the signer also gets a paper
notarized); and
#
Commercial paper under the
Uniform Commercial Code.
Although most
U.S. states have evidentiary rules similar to the
Federal Rules of Evidence, the
California Evidence Code diverges significantly from the FRE in that it does not treat trade inscriptions as self-authenticating. However, this divergence is not as significant as it may first appear, because California also allows for the admissibility of secondary evidence of documents and the nonhearsay use of evidence of trade inscriptions as circumstantial evidence of identity.
Hart v. Keenan Properties
', 9 Cal. 5th 442 (2020) (reversing Court of Appeal opinion which relied on ''Dicola'' to hold invoices were hearsay).
References
United States evidence law
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