What is a Request for Judicial Notice? A Detailed Examination

A request for judicial notice is a legal tool used in civil litigation, allowing a party to request that the court recognize and accept as true certain facts or documents without the need for formal evidence. These facts or documents must be generally known, easily verifiable, or already a part of the court records. By using a request for judicial notice, parties can streamline the litigation process and focus on disputed issues, as the court acknowledges the requested facts or documents as established. Understanding the proper use of this strategy is essential for an effective presentation of your case. (Judicial Notice, Black's Law Dictionary, 11th ed. 2019, available at Westlaw.)

The Legislature specifically enumerated the matters of law and fact that are proper subjects of judicial notice. (Evid. Code, § 452.) These include, (a) the decisional, constitutional, and statutory law of any state of the United States and the resolutions and private acts of the Congress of the United States and of the Legislature of this state; (b) regulations and legislative enactments issued by or under the authority of the United States or any public entity in the United States; (c) official acts of the legislative, executive, and judicial departments of the United States and of any state of the United States; (d) records of (1) any court of this state or (2) any court of record of the United States or of any state of the United States… (continue reading)

A court shall take judicial notice of any matter in Section 90.202 when a party requests it and: (1) gives each adverse party timely written notice of the request, proof of which is filed with the court, to enable the adverse party to prepare to meet the request; and (2) furnishes the court with sufficient information to… (continue reading)

“[A] court may take judicial notice of facts which are capable of immediate and accurate determination by resort to easily accessible sources of indisputable accuracy.” (People v. Jones, 73 N.Y.2d 427, 431 [1989].) Courts shall take judicial notice of matters if a party requesting it furnishes the court sufficient information to enable it to comply with the request. (Civ. Prac. Law & Rules, § 4511(b).) This applies to… (continue reading)

A judicially noticed fact must: (1) be one not subject to reasonable dispute (2) generally known in the jurisdiction of the trial court, or (3) capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned. (Tex. R. Evid. 201(b); In re J.L., 163 S.W.3d…) (continue reading)