Opinion ID: 1742617
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Proof of PFO Status.

Text: Joe Morris, a probation and parole officer employed by the Department of Corrections (D.O.C.), testified from D.O.C. records that Appellant was released from prison on August 1, 1997, less than five years prior to the commission of the present offense. See KRS 532.080(2)(c)1 (providing that PFO status can be imposed for a previous felony conviction for which the offender completed service of the sentence within five years prior to the commission of the present felony). Appellant objected to Morris's testimony on grounds that he was not the custodian of the records and could not authenticate their accuracy. However, D.O.C. records are public records, not business records; thus the Commonwealth was not required to introduce them through a custodian or other qualified witness. Compare KRE 803(8) (public records) with KRE 803(6) (business records). Morris, an employee of the agency entrusted with custody of the records, testified from his knowledge that they were D.O.C., i.e., public, records. The trial court obviously believed that the source[] of information, i.e., Morris, did not indicate lack of trustworthiness. KRE 803(8). The records were properly admitted. Accordingly, the judgments of conviction and sentences imposed by the Fulton Circuit Court are reversed and this case is remanded to that court for further proceedings consistent with the content of this opinion. LAMBERT, C.J.; GRAVES, and JOHNSTONE, JJ., concur. ROACH, J., concurs by separate opinion. SCOTT, J., concurs in part and dissents in part by separate opinion. WINTERSHEIMER, J., dissents without separate opinion.