Cases Relating to Chapter 5 - Judicial Notice

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter presents several case studies related to judicial notice. In function and effect, judicial notice in a civil action is fundamentally different from judicial notice in a criminal case. In a civil action or proceeding, the judge shall instruct the jury to accept as conclusive any fact judicially noticed. In a criminal case, the judge shall instruct the jury that it may, but is not required to, accept as conclusive any fact judicially noticed. The cases discussed in the chapter include the case of State versus Vejvoda, Robinson versus State, and State versus Smith. In a bench trial in the county court for Hall County, Mark Vejvoda was convicted of drunk driving and received an enhanced sentence as the result of his second conviction for drunk driving. Christina Robinson also was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. In the case of Smith, the State of Delaware (“State”) appealed in the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware against a decision by the Justice of the Peace Court (“J.P. Court”) suppressing evidence in favor of the defendant, Mack K. Smith (“Defendant”) because it found that the arresting officer did not have probable cause to arrest.