California OAH special education order · March 13, 2013
Order Granting Request for Official Notice of Exhibit 38
OAH Case No. 2012110566 · ALJ Robert Helfand
OAH took official notice of the San Diego County Juvenile Court's competency evaluation protocol and admitted it as Exhibit 38, finding it a public record posted on the official California courts website.
This case went to decision
Student v. San Diego County Office of Education: San Diego County Office of Education must find and implement a residential placement for a detained student; OT violation also found. (2013)
Summary
During the due process hearing, COE could not authenticate Exhibit 38, the Juvenile Court's "Protocol for Competence Evaluations," as the version in effect at the relevant time. The ALJ let COE ask in writing for official notice instead, and Student opposed. The ALJ granted the request under Government Code section 11515, which allows official notice of facts courts may judicially notice. The ALJ found the protocol is a public record the court publishes, which the ALJ was able to access on the official California courts website, so it could be authenticated as a public record. The exhibit was admitted into evidence.
Why it matters
A party that cannot authenticate a document through a witness may still get it into evidence through official notice if it is a public record from an official government source. Parents should expect court and agency publications to be admitted this way even over objection.
Key authority cited
- Gov. Code, § 11515
- Board of Education of City of Los Angeles v. Watson (1966) 63 Cal.2d 829
- McPheeters v. Board of Medical Examiners (1946) 74 Cal.App.2d 46
People named in the order
- Amy Koers, Declarant
- Angie Arellano, Declarant
Topics
Full text of the order
Published text of the OAH order. Page headers and numbers from the original PDF have been dropped.
BEFORE THE
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
In the Matter of:
PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT, OAH CASE NO. 2012110566
v. ORDER GRANTING REQUEST FOR
OFFICIAL NOTICE OF EXHIBIT 38
COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO OFFICE OF
EDUCATION.
On March 8, 2013, San Diego County Office of Education (COE) filed a request for the undersigned Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to take official notice of Exhibit 38, Protocol for Competence Evaluations. On March 12, 2013, Parent on behalf of Student (Student) filed an opposition to the request.
Exhibit 38 is entitled “Protocol for Competence Evaluations” which purports to be a procedural protocol utilized by the San Diego County Juvenile Court in matters regarding the evaluation of competency of a minor. During the due process hearing, COE was unable to authenticate Exhibit 38 as being the protocol in place during the time at issue. In lieu of requiring further testimony, the ALJ permitted COE to file this request in writing.
APPLICABLE LAW
Government Code section 11515 provides that “official notice can be taken, either before or after submission of the case for decision …of any fact which may be judicially noticed by the courts of the state.” Courts have traditionally taken judicial notice of public records public records issued by public agencies. (Board of Education of City of Los Angeles v. Watson (1966) 63 Cal. 2d 829, 836, fn.3; McPheeters v. Board of Medical Examiners of State (1946) 74 Cal. App. 2d 46, 48.)
Here, COE is requesting that official notice be taken of the published procedure for competency evaluations which the Juvenile Court makes available to the public. The undersigned ALJ was able to access the document from the California Court website, which is the official website of the California court system. 1 Thus, the document was capable of being authenticated as a public record.
The declarations of Amy Koers and Angie Arellano, although hearsay, also substantiate that Exhibit 38 is the current version of the court’s protocol.
ORDER
The COE’s request for the ALJ to take official notice of the “Protocol for Competence Evaluations” is hereby GRANTED. Accordingly, Exhibit 38 is hereby admitted into evidence.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: March 13, 2013 /s/
ROBERT HELFAND
Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings