Rule 201 - Judicial Notice of Adjudicative Facts(a) Scope. This rule governs judicial notice of an adjudicative fact only, not a legislative fact.(b) Kinds of facts that may be judicially noticed. The court may judicially notice a fact that is not subject to reasonable dispute because it: (1) Is generally known within the trial court's territorial jurisdiction; or (2) Can be accurately and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned. (c) Taking notice. The court: (1) May take judicial notice on its own; or (2) Must take judicial notice if a party requests it and the court is supplied with the necessary information.(d) Timing. The court may take judicial notice at any stage of the proceeding.(e) Opportunity to be heard. On timely request, a party is entitled to be heard on the propriety of taking judicial notice and the nature of the fact to be noticed. If the court takes judicial notice before notifying a party, the party, on request, is still entitled to be heard. (f) Instructing the jury. The court must instruct the jury to accept the noticed fact as conclusive.Adopted effective 1/1/2015.Maine Restyling Note [November 2014]
Maine Rule 201 is similar, but not identical to Federal Rule 201. In Maine there is no distinction between civil and criminal cases in the effect of judicial notice. In both cases the court instructs the jury that the fact noticed should be accepted as conclusive. This policy choice has been carried over into the restyled Rule. See also 16 M.R.S. §§401 - 406 (addressing judicial notice of laws of other jurisdictions).
Federal Advisory Committee Note
The language of Rule 201 has been amended as part of the restyling of the Evidence Rules to make them more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules. These changes are intended to be stylistic only. There is no intent to change any result in any ruling on evidence admissibility.
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