Montana
Were eyou thinking of Rule 201?
b. Rule 201
Under FRE 201, federal courts of appeals can take judicial
notice of highly indisputable facts or other court proceedings
that directly relate to the issues on appeal. The general rule of
appellate review based on a closed record "is subject to the right
of an appellate court in a proper case to take judicial notice of
new developments not considered by the lower court."1 7 Parties
may in consequence seek to supplement the appellate record
with new materials that meet the FRE 201 requirements.
The Rule provides that, at any stage of the proceedings, a
federal court of appeals may take judicial notice of "adjudicative
facts" that are not subject to reasonable dispute because they are
"generally known within the territorial jurisdiction of the trial
court" or "can be accurately and readily determined from
sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned."
Thus, a "high degree of indisputability is the essential
prerequisite" to courts' taking judicial notice.'
In addition to highly indisputable facts relating to a pending
case, the federal courts of appeals may take judicial notice of a
proceeding in another court if the proceeding has a direct
when the parties are willing to stipulate to its accuracy and to its inclusion in the appellate
record."); cf Jones v. Jackson Natl. Life Ins. Co., 819 F. Supp. 1385, 1387 (W.D. Mich.
1993) (refusing to augment district court record on the basis of parties' stipulation, and
pointing out that "[t]o the extent there may be an 'inherent equitable power' to supplement
the record exceeding the power provided in Rule 10(e), such power is to be exercised not
by this Court, but by the Court of Appeals") (citations omitted). See infra Part II(a)(2) for a
discussion of courts' inherent equitable power. Individual courts may also have local rules
that permit supplementation of the appellate record with unopposed materials.
... a federal court of appeals may take judicial
notice of the relevant state court documents even if they were
not a part of the district court record
