Opinion ID: 2349410
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Public Records Exception

Text: Appellant also offered the reports as substantive evidence, suggesting their admissibility pursuant to a public records exception to the hearsay rule. [18] The reports were properly authenticated, and the only objections interposed were on grounds of relevance and hearsay. In rejecting the reports, Judge Miller said: I am not going to admit either one of them. I think to admit a document, first of all a hearsay document  it may be a document of the United States government, but you cannot try cases on the basis of documents containing hearsay information.... The reports are clearly hearsay in character, and contain not only primary hearsay, but secondary and tertiary hearsay as well. Appellant does not dispute this but contends that reports required by law to be prepared by a government official and submitted annually to the President and the Congress enjoy a presumption of reliability that is not rebutted by any evidence in this case, and that the reports should therefore have been admitted. McCormick on Evidence § 315, at 888 (E. Cleary 3d ed. 1984) describes the common law exception for public records: The common law evolved an exception to the hearsay rule for written records and reports of public officials under a duty to make them, made upon firsthand knowledge of the facts. These statements are admissible as evidence of the facts recited in them. The modern trend has been to admit public records when the information is gathered by a public officer under a statutory duty to investigate and record or certify facts ascertained by other than personal observation. 5 J. Wigmore, Evidence § 1635, at 531 (3d ed. 1940) states: Now there may be cases in which the officer's duty clearly does involve his ascertainment of facts occurring out of his presence and requiring his resort to sources of information other than his own senses of observation; for example, an assessor's record of the value of real estate and its occupancy, or a registrar of voters' record of electors' residences. When such a duty clearly exists, the general doctrine above, that a witness should have personal knowledge, need not stand in the way, for (as already noted) it has its conceded limitations; and where the officer is vested with a duty to ascertain for himself by proper investigation, this duty should be sufficient to override the general principle. It is true that due caution should be observed before reaching the conclusion that the law has in fact in a given case intended to invest the officer with such an unusual duty. But when it clearly appears that a duty has been prescribed to investigate and to record or certify facts ascertained other than by personal observation, then it follows that, in accordance with the general principle of the present exception, the statement thus made becomes admissible. In reaching the same result, McCormick on Evidence § 317, at 737-38 (E. Cleary 2d ed. 1972) reasoned: To some extent, the conclusions of a professional investigator making inquiries required by his professional and public duty contain assurances of reliability analogous to those relied upon as assuring accuracy of his statements of fact from firsthand knowledge. A skilled investigator can be presumed to report as accurate or to rely upon a hearsay statement only after inquiry into its accuracy. Often such an inquiry, by one professionally equipped to make it well and on the scene at a time when events are fresh and inquiry is most likely to be fruitful, could be relied upon to assure the reliability of those hearsay statements upon which he relies. Much the same could be said of his conclusions. In both cases, it is clear that the report and its conclusions are recognized by all concerned to lay the foundation for future official action, which is likely to stimulate the same habitual accuracy in reporting facts known that underlies the exception for official records generally. (Footnotes omitted). Fed.R.Evid. 803(8) provides that the following are not excluded by the hearsay rule, even though the declarant is available as a witness: Public records and reports. Records, reports, statements, or data compilations, in any form, of public offices or agencies, setting forth (A) the activities of the office or agency, or (B) matters observed pursuant to duty imposed by law as to which matters there was a duty to report, excluding, however, in criminal cases matters observed by police officers and other law enforcement personnel, or (C) in civil actions and proceedings and against the Government in criminal cases, factual findings resulting from an investigation made pursuant to authority granted by law, unless the sources of information or other circumstances indicate lack of trustworthiness. [19] As stated in the advisory committee notes following the rule, [j]ustification for the exception is the assumption that a public official will perform his duty properly and the unlikelihood that he will remember details independently of the record. The discussion of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Ellis v. International Playtex, Inc., 745 F.2d 292, 300 (4th Cir.1984), is helpful in understanding the reasons which underlie the rule: Admissibility in the first instance is assumed because of the reliability of the public agencies usually conducting the investigation, and their lack of any motive for conducting the studies other than to inform the public fairly and adequately. Kehm v. Proctor & Gamble, 724 F.2d 613, at 618, 619 (8th Cir.1983). This is not to say that a report containing the findings of a public agency, made pursuant to an investigation authorized by law, is always admissible. To the contrary, if sufficient negative factors are present to indicate the report is not trustworthy, it should not be admitted. Fed.R.Evid. 803(8)(C), advisory committee note. The factors that may be used to determine admissibility include: (1) the timeliness of the investigation; (2) the special skill or experience of the official; and (3) possible motivation problems. Id. But the burden is on the party opposing admission to demonstrate that the report is not reliable. See Kehm, at 618; Baker v. Elcona Homes Corp., 588 F.2d 551, 558 (6th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 441 U.S. 933, 99 S.Ct. 2054, 60 L.Ed.2d 661 (1979). Placing the burden on the opposing party makes considerable practical sense. Most government sponsored investigations employ well accepted methodological means of gathering and analyzing data. It is unfair to put the party seeking admission to the test of re-inventing the wheel each time a report is offered. Rather than requiring the moving party to spend considerable time and money to ensure that the experts who conducted the study are available at trial, it is far more equitable to place that burden on the party seeking to demonstrate why a time tested and carefully considered presumption is not appropriate. The interpretations given Fed.R.Evid. 803(8)(C) by the federal courts have not been entirely harmonious. Initially, some courts expressed concern over the admission of reports where the government official did not appear to have firsthand knowledge of the facts. There is now general recognition, however, that the hearsay nature of the evidence is a factor to be considered in determining the presence or absence of trustworthiness, but the presence of any level of hearsay does not, by that fact itself, render the report untrustworthy. McCormick on Evidence § 316, at 890 (E. Cleary 3d ed. 1984) states: Investigative reports ... as the name indicates embody the results of some kind of investigation and accordingly almost by definition are not the product of firsthand knowledge on the part of the declarant, which is characteristic of most hearsay exceptions. Also, investigations vary with respect to the timeliness and nature of the inquiry, the procedures followed, possible motivational factors, and the skill of the official or agency. It is not surprising that considerable differences of views developed among courts regarding the wisdom of admitting investigative reports as an exception to the rule against hearsay. The trend, however, has been to recognize that much useful evidence is to be found in investigative reports, with impetus from the many statutory enactments providing for admissibility. (Footnotes omitted). The more difficult problem, and the one that has produced a significant disagreement among the courts, involves the admissibility of opinions, conclusions and determinations of the investigating officer or agency. The rule speaks to the admissibility of factual findings resulting from an investigation, but increasing numbers of federal appellate courts are allowing trial judges broad discretion to accept opinions and judgments found in evaluative reports. Reference to the legislative history is not helpful in resolving this conflict. The meaning of the term factual findings is left unclear by the legislative history. The Advisory Committee's Note, after referring to the federal statutes conferring admissibility upon various kinds of investigative reports, concluded the willingness of Congress to recognize a substantial measure of admissibility for evaluative reports is a helpful guide. The Report of the House Committee on the Judiciary took an opposing stand: The Committee intends that the phrase `factual findings' be strictly construed and that evaluations or opinions contained in public reports shall not be admissible under this Rule. House Comm. on Judiciary, Fed.Rules of Evidence, H.R.Rep. No. 650, 93d Cong., 1st Sess., p. 14 (1973). The Report of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary rejected this view: The committee takes strong exception to this limited understanding of the application of the rule.... The committee concludes that the language of the rule together with the explanation provided by the Advisory Committee furnish sufficient guidance on the admissibility of evaluative reports. Senate Comm. on Judiciary, Fed.Rules of Evidence, S.Rep. No. 1277, 93d Cong., 2d Sess., p. 18 (1974). McCormick on Evidence § 316, at 890-91 n. 7 (E. Cleary 3d ed. 1984). The line between fact and opinion is often difficult to draw. An investigating body may hear diametrically opposed testimony on the question of whether one person or another struck the first blow, and proceed to decide the issue as a finding of fact. That determination necessarily has a judgmental quality, and differs, for example, from a finding of fact that a certain number of persons suffered burns from ignition of clothing fabric during a given period. Conclusions found in reports need not be judgmental. A conclusion that there has been a significant increase in fabric-related burn injuries is essentially factual if the datum shows a 60% increase. Thus, attaching labels of fact or opinion or conclusion will not necessarily resolve the issue, and careful attention must be given to the true nature of the statement and the totality of circumstances bearing on the ultimate issue of reliability. Third level hearsay may possess significant indicia of reliability in one case and be clearly unreliable in another. [20] In Ellis and in Kehm reports of epidemiological studies conducted by the Center for Disease Control and reporting the incidence of menstruation and tampon use among those persons suffering toxic shock syndrome were found admissible, each court noting that complaints about the methodology of data collection were insufficient to overcome the presumption of reliability. In Robbins v. Whelan, 653 F.2d 47 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1123, 102 S.Ct. 972, 71 L.Ed.2d 110 (1981) a Department of Transportation National Highway Safety Bureau report providing information on maximum stopping distances for all automobiles manufactured in a certain year was held admissible, even though the data was supplied by individual automobile manufacturers. The court noted that data collection was required by regulations issued by the National Highway Safety Bureau, and although the required tests were not monitored by federal officials the circumstances under which the information was collected and reported were indicative of reliability. The greater number of federal courts considering Rule 803(8)(C) have adopted the more liberal view of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and have admitted evaluative reports unless sufficient negative factors were present to demonstrate unreliability. See, e.g., Chandler v. Roudebush, 425 U.S. 840, 96 S.Ct. 1949, 48 L.Ed.2d 416 (1976) (prior administrative findings made with respect to employment discrimination claim admitted in federal-section trial de novo ); Ellis v. International Playtex, Inc., supra (analysis of statistics relating to tampon use and incidence of toxic shock syndrome admitted); Wilson v. Beebe, 743 F.2d 342 (6th Cir.1984) (memorandum of police captain finding subordinate officer had acted contrary to department training in weapons use and handling admitted in negligence action against police officer); Litton Systems, Inc. v. American Tel. & Tel. Co., 700 F.2d 785 (2d Cir.1983) (Federal Communications Commission decision finding telephone company tariffs to be unreasonable, discriminatory, and unnecessarily restrictive admitted in anti-trust action); Falcon v. General Tel. Co. of Southwest, 626 F.2d 369 (5th Cir.1980), vacated on other grounds, 450 U.S. 1036, 101 S.Ct. 1752, 68 L.Ed.2d 234 (1981) (findings of Government Services Administration contained in letter to employer admitted in employment discrimination action); Garcia v. Gloor, 618 F.2d 264 (5th Cir.1980) (findings of Equal Employment Opportunities Commission and Texas Employment Commissioner's Appeal Tribunal admitted in employment discrimination action); Lloyd v. American Export Lines, Inc., 580 F.2d 1179 (3d Cir.), cert. denied sub nom, Alvarez v. American Export Lines, Inc., 439 U.S. 969, 99 S.Ct. 461, 58 L.Ed.2d 428 (1978) (decision of Coast Guard hearing examiner that claims of assault and battery and of intoxication were not proven admitted in unseaworthiness claim); Baker v. Elcona Homes Corp., 588 F.2d 551 (6th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 441 U.S. 933, 99 S.Ct. 2054, 60 L.Ed.2d 661 (1979) (police accident report containing opinion of officer as to which vehicle entered intersection on red light admitted in civil action). While most courts have determined that evaluative reports are to be admitted or excluded in the exercise of the sound discretion of the trial court, the Ninth Circuit has determined that administrative findings are admissible per se in employment discrimination claims whether brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. ) or under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. See Plummer v. Western Intern. Hotels Co., Inc., 656 F.2d 502 (9th Cir.1981). We agree that the Public Records exception to the hearsay rule appropriately allows the reception of reliable facts, and will be recognized in this state in the form in which it appears at Fed.R.Evid. 803(8). We make clear, however, that the term factual findings will be strictly construed and that evaluations or opinions contained in public reports will not be received unless otherwise admissible under this State's law of evidence. [21] The Public Records exception as here adopted will permit the reception of reliable facts otherwise difficult to bring before the trier of fact, but avoid the influence of opinions that ordinarily ought to be received only after full opportunity for examination of the witness' credentials and full opportunity for cross examination concerning the basis of any opinion expressed. We also make clear that even though the burden rests upon the party opposing the introduction of a public record to demonstrate the existence of negative factors sufficient to overcome the presumption of reliability, this does not mean that additional evidence will be required in every case to meet that burden. Indicia of unreliability may be contained in the report itself, or may be disclosed by the evidence of the party offering the report. Additionally, we point out that the inclusion within a factual report of inadmissible evaluations or opinions need not necessarily result in exclusion of the entire report, and the trial judge should consider redaction of the report in that event. We do not rule on the admissibility of these reports because that determination should be made in the first instance by the trial judge if they are offered on retrial. JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS REVERSED; CASE REMANDED TO THAT COURT WITH DIRECTIONS TO REVERSE THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MONTGOMERY COUNTY AND REMAND FOR A NEW TRIAL; COSTS TO BE PAID BY APPELLEES. ELDRIDGE, Judge, concurring: I agree with the result reached by the majority, and I join in Part I of the opinion. I also agree with the majority's adoption in Part II of the Public Records exception to the hearsay rule. Nevertheless, I would not strictly construe or limit the exception to factual findings. To deny the trial court any discretion in admitting evaluations or opinions contained in public records is both contrary to the weight of the case law and unsound. One formulation of the public records exception is set forth in Fed.R.Evid. 803(8)(C), which provides that public documents containing factual findings resulting from an investigation made pursuant to authority granted by law are not to be excluded by the hearsay rule. (Emphasis added.) As we are adopting the public records exception as a common law development, and since we are not construing a rule or statute, we are not of course limited by the wording of the federal rule. Nonetheless, even the cases under the federal rule have not strictly construed or applied the phrase factual findings. The majority cites several federal cases which have addressed the construction to be given the factual findings language of Rule 803(8)(C). The majority quotes Ellis v. International Playtex, Inc., 745 F.2d 292 (4th Cir.1984), regarding the rule's underlying rationale. The court in Ellis further noted (745 F.2d at 301): Although there has been some disagreement over whether `evaluative' public records or reports were intended by Congress to be considered `factual findings' for the purposes of Fed.R.Evid. 803(8)(C), it is well established that the phrase should be interpreted broadly.  (Emphasis added.) One of the cases relied upon in Ellis was Kehm v. Proctor & Gamble Mfg. Co., 724 F.2d 613 (8th Cir.1983), in which it was stated (724 F.2d at 618): [C]ourts construing the term `factual findings' in Rule 803(8)(C) have given it broad scope. See, e.g., United States v. American Telephone & Telegraph Company, 498 F. Supp. 353, 360 (D.D.C. 1980) (citing cases). They have often admitted government reports setting forth agency opinions and conclusions on the ground that such reports, because they are public records based on investigations conducted pursuant to lawful authority, are presumptively reliable. That is, `there is no reason not to admit the findings simply because they tend towards the conclusory rather than the factual end, unless, as Rule 803(8)(C) further provides, the `sources of information or other circumstances indicate lack of trustworthiness.' Id. See also Baker v. Elcona Homes Corp., [588 F.2d 551 (6th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 441 U.S. 933, 99 S.Ct. 2054, 60 L.Ed.2d 661 (1979)]; United States v. School District of Ferndale, Michigan, 577 F.2d 1339, 1354 (6th Cir. 1978). We agree with the district court that once a report is conclusively shown to represent findings of a public agency made pursuant to an investigation authorized by law, the central inquiry becomes whether the report is trustworthy. The overwhelming majority of cases are in accord with this view. Litton Systems v. American Telephone & Telegraph Co., 700 F.2d 785 (2d Cir.1983), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 104 S.Ct. 984, 79 L.Ed.2d 220 (1984); Melville v. American Home Assur. Co., 584 F.2d 1306 (3d Cir.1978); Wetherill v. University of Chicago, 518 F. Supp. 1387 (N.D. Ill. 1981); Zenith Radio Corp. v. Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co., Ltd., 505 F. Supp. 1125 (E.D.Pa. 1980); see 4 Weinstein's Evidence, ¶ 803(8)[03]. As I understand the majority, the Court is drawing a firm line between fact and opinion, and is requiring the trial judge to distinguish, in every instance in which a public record is offered for admission, between fact and opinion. The majority is not allowing the trial judge any latitude or discretion in admitting evaluations or conclusions if, as a matter of law, they are deemed to fall within the category of opinions. This is an unworkable rule. The principal problem with this approach, as the majority seems to acknowledge, is that there is often no clear line between fact and opinion. This Court, regarding the gray area between the two, stated in Glaros v. State, 223 Md. 272, 277, 164 A.2d 461 (1960): The assumption that there is a difference in kind between `fact' and `opinion' has been said to be an illusion. `There is no conceivable statement however specific, detailed, and factual, that is not in some measure the product of inference and reflection as well as observation and memory.' By not allowing the trial judge any discretion, the Court forces him to go painstakingly through any public record or report and attempt to exclude all material that may not be in the strictest sense factual. This could present a very difficult and time consuming task, and one in which there are no satisfactory guidelines. Moreover, the majority's position will present a problem not only to the trial courts, but to the appellate courts as well. In every case where the public records exception is involved, an appeal may be predicated on the ground that certain opinions were erroneously admitted or that relevant facts were excluded. In my view, the trial judges should be given some degree of discretion in admitting the contents of public records. If a public agency or official is deemed to supply sufficiently accurate and trustworthy reports for the factual findings to be admitted into evidence, it should logically follow that the agency's or official's conclusions would also be sufficiently reliable. To decide otherwise, by denying the trial court any discretion when admitting public records, is unreasonable. Accordingly, I would follow the majority of cases in allowing the trial court a degree of discretion with regard to the admissibility of the contents of public records. Therefore, I cannot join all of Part II of the Court's opinion.