Opinion ID: 1197590
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Truck Registration Statement.

Text: During surrebuttal late in the trial, McGee offered as evidence a 1972 Certificate of Registration which stated that at that time the weight of his truck was 6,260 pounds. This evidence contradicted the expressed assumptions of the State's and appellee's expert witnesses that the vehicle weighed 5,200 pounds. Appellee objected to the introduction of the certificate on the grounds that it should have been offered earlier and that it was incompetent. The trial court excluded the certificate, though it never clearly stated the rationale for its ruling. Apparently the court was in agreement with the view that the document should have been offered prior to or during the presentations by the expert witnesses. The State now argues exclusion of this evidence was error. The registration certificate was hearsay evidence to prove the weight of the vehicle at the time of the accident. However, the certificate was an official record within the meaning of Civil Rule 44(b), which provides for the admissibility of certain public records. [33] On the other hand, McGee made no attempt to demonstrate compliance with the prerequisites to admissibility set forth in the rule. For example, there was no showing that a copy of the certificate had been delivered to appellee. [34] Consequently, we affirm the superior court's ruling.