Opinion ID: 1113754
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Authentication of Records

Text: Wilson's claim that the board failed to properly authenticate bank and hospital records introduced into evidence is, likewise, without merit. Our statutory, as well as, our case law hold that administrative hearings are not bound by the Mississippi Rules of Evidence or the Mississippi Rules of Procedure. Section 73-15-31(3) states that the board ... shall not be bound by strict rules of procedure or by the laws of evidence in the conduct of its proceedings, ... Cf. Merchant v. Pearl Municipal Separate School District, 492 So.2d 959 (Miss. 1986) [School boards proceed informally and are not bound by the Mississippi Rules of Evidence]; Love v. Mississippi State Board of Veterinary Examiners, 230 Miss. 222, 92 So.2d 463 (1956). A copy of the $80 check was accompanied by a sworn affidavit executed by the President of the Planters Bank in Tunica attesting to the fact that it was, inter alia, a true and correct copy. The employee produced the original check, and there was no harm, no foul, and certainly no prejudice to Wilson. With respect to the hospital records, the sworn affidavit of Sonya Thornhill of the medical record department of the Mississippi State Hospital complied in substance with our statutory requirements.