Section 16.34 Federal Rules

• Library: Evidence 2017

5. (§16.34) Federal Rules

The corresponding Federal Rules of Evidence are:

· Rule 803(8), allowing the admission of public records and reports;

· Rule 803(9), records of vital statistics; and

· Rule 803(10), allowing evidence of the absence of a public record or entry in a public document to prove the nonexistence or nonoccurrence of an event.

The most controversial aspect of the federal rules is the use of a report containing factual findings and conclusions “from a legally authorized investigation.” Rule 803(8)(A)(iii). The Supreme Court of Missouri discussed the federal rules in Rodriguez v. Suzuki Motor Corp., 996 S.W.2d 47, 55–59 (Mo. banc 1999). For the use of the results of a government investigation in a Rodriguez-type situation, see Lopez v. Three Rivers Electric Cooperative, 92 S.W.3d 165 (Mo. App. E.D. 2002)...