Opinion ID: 2405573
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Admissibility of psychiatric report

Text: During the preliminary hearing counsel for Larry asked the court to take judicial notice of the psychiatric evaluation and to admit it for purposes of the preliminary hearing only. The court refused; however, the court did allow counsel to ask Investigator Rainbolt if he was aware of Larry's low I.Q. as described in the report. The state's objection to the report's admissibility was well taken. No foundation had been laid. While the report might have been admissible as a business record, and thus an exception to the hearsay rule, under A.R.E. 803(6), we have held that a foundation must be laid for the admission of such a document, and the elements of the foundation must be shown by testimony of the custodian or another qualified witness. Cates v. State, 267 Ark. 726, 589 S.W.2d 598 (1979). As that was not done in this case, there was no error.