Opinion ID: 1829477
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Public-Records Exception

Text: The State also contends that the DOC release-date letter, in and of itself, is admissible as a public record under section 90.803(8), Florida Statutes (2004). [9] We do not agree with this contention because this type of letter does not pass muster under the relevant evidentiary analysis. Where government records are at issue, the records are often admissible both as business records and as public records; but it is generally easier to obtain admission as a public record. See Ehrhardt, supra § 803.8, at 905. For example, in contrast to business records, the State is not required to create public records at or near the time of the memorialized matter. Compare § 90.803(6), Fla. Stat. (2004), with § 90.803(8), Fla. Stat. (2004). Further, an evidentiary proponent may easily authenticate public records by requesting that the State supply the record under seal. See § 90.902(1), Fla. Stat. (2004). Public record, as used in section 90.803(8), only encompasses two types of records. The first type includes records setting forth the activities of the office or agency. § 90.803(8), Fla. Stat. (2004); Ehrhardt, supra § 803.8, at 906. And the second type includes records setting forth matters observed pursuant to [a] duty imposed by law as to matters which there was a duty to report. § 90.803(8), Fla. Stat. (2004); Ehrhardt, supra § 803.8, at 906. Moreover, matters-observed public records must be based upon a public official's first-hand observation of an event. See Ehrhardt, supra § 803.8, at 906; Kimbrough v. State, 852 So.2d 335, 335-36 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003). The release-date letter at issue in this case is not an activities-based public record. The DOC is responsible for the inmates and for the operation of, and shall have supervisory and protective care, custody, and control of, all buildings, grounds, property of, and matters connected with, the correctional system. § 945.04(1), Fla. Stat. (2001). However, drafting a gratuitous hearsay letter for the purpose of litigation is not a regular activity of the DOC. Rather, creating and maintaining Crime and Time Reports is the relevant DOC activity. See, e.g., Parker, 973 So.2d at 1168-69; Desue, 908 So.2d at 1117-18. Release-date letters do not memorialize any DOC activity; instead, they assert a release date without reference to the actual documents the DOC uses to maintain accurate release dates for its inmate population. See, e.g., Parker, 973 So.2d at 1168-69; Desue, 908 So.2d at 1117-18; Gray, 910 So.2d at 869. Thus, the release-date letter alone is not admissible under the first prong of section 90.803(8) because it does not memorialize a DOC activity. The release-date letter is also not a matters-observed public record: [T]o be admitted under this portion of the exception: (1) the source of the information must have personal knowledge of the information recorded, as the phrase matters observed implies, (2) the source must have had a legal duty to both observe and report the information, and (3) the record in question must be one that the public agency or office is required by law to prepare. Ehrhardt, supra § 803.8, at 908 (emphasis supplied). Here, Ms. Hobbs did not allege that she had personal knowledge of Mr. Yisrael's release date, and the DOC did not have a legal duty to create a litigation-specific letter for the assistant state attorney. Rather, the DOC had a statutory duty to create and maintain its Crime and Time Reports, which are the actual records the DOC relies upon to keep track of inmates' crimes, sentences, and release dates. See § 945.04(1), Fla. Stat. (2001); Parker, 973 So.2d at 1168-69; Desue, 908 So.2d at 1117-18; Gray, 910 So.2d at 869. Therefore, the release-date letter alone is not admissible under the second prong of section 90.803(8) because it does not memorialize a matter observed and recorded pursuant to a legal duty. In contrast, the Crime and Time Report attached and included in exhibit C, which the parties and the Fourth District inadvertently overlooked in the discussion below, is a public record. See § 90.803(8), Fla. Stat. (2004); Desue, 908 So.2d at 1117-18. Crime and Time Reports memorialize a regular DOC activity: the efforts of the Department to accurately record and maintain records of inmates' crimes, sentences, and release dates, and we hold that section 945.04(1), Florida Statutes, imposes a statutory duty upon the DOC to create and maintain records regarding matters connected with ... the correctional system. Furthermore, the signed DOC release-date letter written under seal may be viewed as a means of authenticating the attached Crime and Time Report. § 90.902(1), Fla. Stat. (2004) (signed public records offered under seal are self-authenticating). Here, we conclude that the Crime and Time Report is an admissible public record because: (1) the State submitted the release-date letter and the Crime and Time Report as one combined record during Yisrael's sentencing proceeding; (2) the release-date letter certified Yisrael's former name, offense identification numbers, and release date; (3) the attached Crime and Time Report contained this same information; and (4) the DOC records custodian signed the letter, which was written under seal. Hence, the combined record constituted an activities-based public record, which the State authenticated under section 90.902(1), Florida Statutes. Section 90.902(1) merely requires that the submitted document bear the signature of the records custodian attesting to the authenticity of the document and to the authenticity of the document's seal. See § 90.902(1), Fla. Stat. (2004); Ehrhardt, supra § 902.2, at 1045. Here, Joyce Hobbs certified the document's seal and certified the accuracy of all the relevant information contained in Mr. Yisrael's attached Crime and Time Report. Therefore, the combined record, not the release-date letter itself, was admissible as a public record, which the records custodian properly authenticated under seal. See §§ 90.803(8), 90.902(1), Fla. Stat. (2004).