§ 1-25 Judicial Notice

• Library: South Carolina Requests to Charge - Criminal (SCBar) (2023 Ed.)

§ 1-25 Judicial Notice

It is improper for the trial judge to take judicial notice of an element of the offense charged.

In State v. Odom, 412 S.C. 253, 772 S.E.2d 149 (2015), the Supreme Court of South Carolina held that in order

"[t]o withstand a constitutional challenge, Rule 201, [SCRE], cannot be construed as a license to conclusively establish a fact that is an element of the offense charged.

Rule 201, SCRE, governing judicial notice, provides:

(a) Scope of Rule. This rule governs only judicial notice of adjudicative facts.

(b) Kinds of Facts. A judicially noticed fact must be one not subject to reasonable dispute in that it is either (1) generally known within the territorial jurisdiction of the trial court or (2) capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.

(c) When Discretionary. A court may take judicial notice, whether requested or not.

(d) When Mandatory. A court shall take judicial notice if requested by a party and supplied with the necessary information.

(e) Opportunity to Be Heard. A party is entitled upon timely request to an opportunity to be heard as to the propriety of taking judicial notice and the tenor of the matter noticed. In the

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