§ 33.18 Other Exceptions

• Jurisdiction: United States

§ 33.18 Other Exceptions

There are several other exceptions in Rule 803. Many are codifications of the common law that are not as important today as they were when first adopted. For example, a number of exceptions deal with pedigree, i.e., births, deaths, legitimacy, marriage, and family relationships. While these issues remain significant, modern recording systems make resort to the family Bible¹⁹² and community reputation¹⁹³ rare.¹⁹⁴ Indeed, Rule 803(9) recognizes a hearsay exception for records of vital statistics.

Another group of exceptions deals with real property—i.e., the question of who owns Blackacre.¹⁹⁵

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Notes:

^[192] Fed. R. Evid. 803(13).

^[193] Fed. R. Evid. 803(19).

^[194] See also Fed. R. Evid. 803(11) (records of religious organizations); Fed. R. Evid. 803(12) (marriage and baptismal certificates); Fed. R. Evid. 803(23) (judgments concerning personal/family history). Another exception is found in Rule 804. Fed. R. Evid. 804(b)(4) (statements of personal/family relationship).

^[195] See Fed. R. Evid. 803(14) (recording statutes, interest in property); Fed. R. Evid. 803(15) (statements in documents); Fed. R. Evid. 803(20) (reputation concerning boundaries and general history); Fed. R. Evid. 803(23) (judgments concerning boundaries and general history).