RULE 902 SELF AUTHENTICATION Extrinsic evidence of authenticity as a condition precedent to admissibility is not required with respect to the following: (1) Domestic public documents under seal. A document bearing a seal purporting to be that of the United States, or of any State, district, Commonwealth, territory, or insular possession thereof, or the Panama Canal Zone, or the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or of a political subdivision, department, officer, or agency thereof, and a signature purporting to be an attestation or execution. (2) Domestic public documents not under seal. A document purporting to bear the signature in his official capacity of an officer or employee of any entity included in paragraph (1) hereof, having no seal, if a public officer having a seal and having official duties in the district or political subdivision of the officer or employee certifies under seal that the signer has the official capacity and that the signature is genuine. (3) Foreign public documents. A document purporting to be executed or attested in his official capacity by a person authorized by the laws of a foreign country to make the execution or attestation, and accompanied by a final certification as to the genuineness of the signature and official position (A) of the executing or attesting person, or (B) of any foreign official whose certificate of genuineness of signature and official position relates to the execution or attestation or is in a chain of certificates of genuineness of signature and official position relating to the execution or attestation. A final certification may be made by a secretary of embassy or legation, consul general, consul, vice consul, or consular agent of the United States, or a diplomatic or consular official of the foreign country assigned or accredited to the United States. If reasonable opportunity has been given to all parties to investigate the authenticity and accuracy of official documents, the court may, for good cause shown, order that they be treated as presumptively authentic without final certification or permit them to be evidenced by an attested summary with or without final certification. (4) Certified copies of public records. A copy of an official record or report or entry therein, or of a document authorized by law to be recorded or filed and actually recorded or filed in a public office, including data compilations in any form, certified as correct by the custodian or other person authorized to make the certification, by certificate complying with paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of this rule or complying with any Act of Congress or rule prescribed by the Supreme Court pursuant to statutory authority. (5) Official publications. Books, pamphlets, or other publications purporting to be issued by public authority. (6) Newspapers and periodicals. Printed materials purporting to be newspapers or periodicals. (7) Trade inscriptions and the like. Inscriptions, signs, tags, or labels purporting to have been affixed in the course of business and indicating ownership, control, or origin. (8) Acknowledged documents. - Documents accompanied by a certi ficate of acknowledgement executed in the manner provided by law by (9) Commercial paper and related documents. Commercial paper, signatures thereon, and documents relating thereto to the extent provided by general commercial law. Any signature, docu (10) Presumptions under Acts of Congress. ment, or other matter declared by Act of Congress to be presumptively or prima facie genuine or authentic. ELEMENTS A. Extrinsic evidence of authenticity as a condition precedent to 1. Domestic public documents under seal with a signature purport ing to be an attestation. 2. Domestic public documents not under seal with signature of 3. Foreign public documents attested by person authorized by law 4. Certified copies of public records. 5. Official publications issued by public authority. 6. Printed materials purporting to be newspapers or periodicals. 7. Trade inscriptions, signs, tags or labels purporting to be affixed in the ordinary course of business and indicating This rule provides for the general admission of documents or classes of writings where the attending circumstances render it unreasonable to require further authentication. There are often other indicia of reliability associated with a writing which would require admission under other rules; however, the purpose of this rule is to reach those writings about which the danger of undue cost or delay in authenticating the document by other means far outweigh any danger of forgery or falsification. 1) DOMESTIC PUBLIC DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL This rule allows the admission of documents bearing the seal of the generating office or the office of custody. The document's existence is established by a certified true copy stamp. The certification establishes the fact of recording rather than the genuineness or correctness of the document or its contents. 2) DOMESTIC PUBLIC DOCUMENTS NOT UNDER SEAL At common law, where an official had a seal signifying his office, only the application of that seal by the signing official was considered valid. This rule is designed to cover situations in which the seal is in the possession of an official other than the signer of the document. The only requirement under the rule is that the officer certifying the genuineness of another's signature, have duties in the office division of the officer whose signature he certifies. This insures a minimum connection between the certifying officer and the signing officer in order that the former may represent that the latter's signature is genuine. Additionally, the officer executing the document must sign it in his official capacity and have authority to affix his signature to the document. 3) FOREIGN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS This rule permits the certification of a foreign document or copy thereof by an authorized person rather than the custodian of the record. The officer merely certifies the genuineness of the officer's signature, as well as, his official position. Where there are a number of signatures on the document, the officer need only certify the last one. 4) CERTIFIED COPIES OF PUBLIC RECORDS This rule permits the certification of records by the records custodian, where it would be difficult or impractical to remove the original for production at trial. The custodian's signature along with a statement that he has the original and that the copy is a correct reproduction of the original will suffice, even in the absence of a seal. There is no magic language which the certifier must use except that he must indicate that he has possession of the original and that the copy is a correct reflection of it. Where a literal copy cannot be obtained through due diligence, Rule 1005 permits the use of summaries for the same purpose. A certificate attesting to the absence of an official record may also be made under the provisions of this rule. 5) OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS This rule requires only that the publication be printed pursuant to public authority. Often private printers will publish their versions of the official publication. These publications, although not printed under official sanction, are nevertheless accepted as if they were official publications inasmuch as they have generally been found to be accurate. The likelihood of inaccuracy is deemed remote, inasmuch as, the private printer's reputation may rise or fall on the accuracy of his publication. Additionally, he may be subject to legal action if he proffers to the public an inaccurate version under a representation that it is accurate. ILLUSTRATION He Assume X desires to quote a passage from the papers of Harry Truman. does not have a copy of the volume printed by the Government Printing Office. However, he does have a paperback copy of the book as printed by Dell Publishing Co. Although the book printed by Dell is not an official version, the courts will probably admit it inasmuch as Dell had great incentive to print a correct and true copy (e.g., loss of reputation). 6) NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS This rule allows the admission of newspaper accounts without authentication. Inasmuch as it is unlikely that newspaper accounts will be forged, the genuineness of the account, as opposed to truthfulness, will not be in dispute. Notices or advertisements appearing in newspapers are prima facie evidence that the named advertiser authorized its printing, inasmuch as, it is unlikely that a newspaper would provide free advertisement on its own initiative without being induced to do so. Newspaper accounts may be used for its historical significance especially where the news accounts delve into relatively ancient and obscure |